San Francisco Superior Court approves preliminary injunction to stop vandal who caused more than $88,000 in public property damage
SAN FRANCISCO (Sept. 30, 2015)—A San Francisco Superior Court judge today granted City Attorney Dennis Herrera’s motion for preliminary injunction against graffiti vandal Cozy Terry, restricting her contact with Muni vehicles that were a top target and ordering her to immediately stop engaging in lawless behavior.
Under the terms of the injunction issued this morning, Terry is prohibited from committing further damage to private or public property in San Francisco, aiding or assisting others in graffiti vandalism, or possessing graffiti vandalism tools. Additionally, her contact with Muni vehicles is strictly restricted to travel between her residence, place of employment, and place of educational studies or religious practices.
“Graffiti vandalism aims to victimize all of us—by robbing public resources and befouling public services, by blighting our neighborhoods and betraying our laws,” Herrera said when he filed his suit on Aug. 14, 2015. “Cozy Terry is a prolific and unrepentant graffiti vandal, who has so far been undeterred by laws or law enforcement.”
In her spree of lawless behavior over the last 34 months, Terry caused more than $88,000 in damage to public property—including BART property not owned by the city—and thousands more in private property damage. Cozy Terry, whose graffiti monikers include Coze, Coz, Coze One and multiple other variations on her first name, has previously been arrested and cited by the San Francisco Police Department for graffiti, and is implicated in dozens of incidents involving her eponymous scrawl.
Today’s court ordered injunction is an early step in the civil suit Herrera filed against Terry last month, which seeks full compensatory damages from Terry for the $53,788.24 in costs that her attacks inflicted on city property. If successful, the suit could also secure compensatory damages to be determined at trial; possible punitive damages for willful and malicious conduct; civil penalties of up to $1,000 for each qualifying incident of graffiti vandalism Terry committed during the preceding year; and attorneys’ fees and other costs to the city to investigate and litigate the civil action. Should the city prevail, the court could order the defendant to pay penalties to the city in funds, community service, or a combination of both.
The case is: City and County of San Francisco v. Cozy Terry et al., San Francisco Superior Court Case No. CGC 15-547395, filed August 14, 2015. Complete documentation on the case, including all photographic exhibits, is available below.
Court Records
[shareonedrive dir=”B48BEEC574094C9A!569″ mode=”files” viewrole=”administrator|editor|author|contributor|subscriber|guest” filedate=”0″ filelayout=”list” downloadrole=”administrator|editor|author|contributor|subscriber|guest” candownloadzip=”1″ showsharelink=”1″ searchfrom=”selectedroot”]Photo Exhibits
[shareonedrive dir=”B48BEEC574094C9A!221″ mode=”gallery” includeext=”gif|jpg|jpeg|png|bmp” viewrole=”administrator|editor|author|contributor|subscriber|guest” slideshow=”1″ candownloadzip=”1″ showsharelink=”1″ searchfrom=”selectedroot”]