BOOMERANG Damages involving lion suit settled

Both sides have agreed not to release the settlement terms.
YOUNGSTOWN -- The monetary damage issues involving the parties who once fought for custody of Boomerang the lion have been settled.
Judge Maureen A. Sweeney of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court had scheduled a hearing in June about a complaint for damages involving William Long of Upper Arlington, the lion's owner, and Ellen and Douglas Whitehouse, owners of Noah's Lost Ark, an animal sanctuary in Berlin Center, who cared for Boomerang for 15 months.
Bailiff notified
Judge Sweeney's bailiff was notified Tuesday, however, by Matthew Gurbach, a lawyer for Noah's Lost Ark, that a settlement between the parties had been reached.
Gurbach declined to comment. J. Jeffrey Holland of Sharon Center, Ohio, who represents Long, said the terms of the settlement won't be released by agreement of both sides.
He added that a part of the settlement also would be for both sides to agree to set aside their past differences.
Noah's Lost Ark and Long claimed they suffered damages in the custody battle.
The Whitehouses said they spent more than $25,000 to care for the animal since it was brought to the sanctuary as a cub in October 2003. Long argued he deserved monetary damages because of the Whitehouses' refusal to give him the animal, which courts declared was his property.
Battle ended
The custody battle ended in January, when the lion was taken from Noah's and shipped to a California animal sanctuary owned by actress Tippi Hedren.
Long and Alfred Guart, a former New York Post reporter, brought Boomerang to Noah's shortly after buying the 8-day-old cub from an animal fair in Wapakoneta in northwest Ohio for $1,000. The men worked together on a Post story showing how easy it was to purchase exotic animals.
Long said he never abandoned the lion, as the Whitehouses contended, and that the animal was never sick or near death. He was concerned the cub was too young to make the trip West and intended for it to stay at Noah's only until it was strong enough for travel.
The 7th District Court of Appeals ruled in August 2004 the lion belongs to Long. That ruling upheld a May 2004 decision from common pleas court.
Sanctuary owners had argued the men were irresponsible separating such a young cub from its mother and gave up ownership when they dropped it off. The Ohio Supreme Court declined to hear their appeal in December 2004.
In January, Judge Sweeney and the appellate court both refused to delay their orders to turn the animal over to Long.