2 men can't sue state over snakes

A father-son team of snake researchers cannot sue a state agency over the death of dozens of rubber boas during a raid on the son's Davis County home in 2004.

In a ruling issued Friday, the Utah Supreme Court struck down a civil suit filed by Richard and Ryan Hoyer against the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources.

The suit stems from a DWR investigation called "Operation Slither." During the multistate sting investigating people engaging in the illegal possession and trafficking of reptiles, DWR officials served a warrant on the home of Ryan Hoyer and confiscated 65 rubber boa snakes. Ryan Hoyer, an amateur herpetologist, says he was helping his father, a biologist and expert on the reptiles.

Ryan Hoyer was charged in Clearfield Justice Court with a misdemeanor. According to the ruling, it took the Hoyers two and a half years to gain access to the snakes. By that time all but eight of the snakes had died in DWR care.

Both father and son sued DWR, alleging negligence in caring for the snakes as well as violations of due process in the raid.

Justices unanimously agreed in Friday's ruling that DWR is protected under governmental immunity, which protects government agencies from liability in the course of their duties.

"The ruling basically states that officers in the state of Utah have no duty to care for any evidence in their possession, and we're disappointed by that. We hope the Legislature will try and remedy this ruling," said Nathan Whittaker, an attorney for the Hoyers. The confiscation of the snakes impacted his clients' research and their ability to do future research, he said. Whittaker said he had argued that governmental immunity should have applied during the raid but not covered the long-term care of the animals by DWR.

Last year the Utah Court of Appeals upheld Ryan Hoyer's justice court conviction.

E-MAIL: gfattah@desnews.com