A south Florida pet store facing a pending lawsuit alleging it sells sick puppies filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection in June and shuttered its doors.

The closure of Wizard of Claws in Pembroke Pines came within days of a ruling by a Broward County judge, who refused to dismiss several defendants from the major class action lawsuit. The 2007 suit, filed by members of the Humane Society of the United States (Washington) and others, accuses the puppy dealer and its affiliates of defrauding customers by misrepresenting the origin of puppies, and by selling “puppy mill’ dogs that suffer from severe health problems and genetic defects through its retail pet store and over the Internet.

The court order allows plaintiffs to proceed with their claims against three entities sharing common ownership with Wizard of Claws—Celebrity Kennels Inc., Dog Breeder Kennel Inc. and Puppies for Sale Inc., according to an HSUS press release. It also directs the defendants to turn over records of sold puppies and to sit for depositions regarding their business practices.

Animals at the Wizard of Claws—the subject of a four-month investigation by a Miami television news station that aired in February 2006—were seized by the bankruptcy trustee, who privately sold some of the pups, according to published news reports. The remaining 32 puppies subsequently were transferred to the custody of the HSUS and the Broward County Humane Society, according to the HSUS.

Also facing a lawsuit, filed in June, is Best Price Puppies of Hallandale Beach. The six plaintiffs in that suit accuse the business of selling sick and dying puppies and refusing to provide reimbursement as required by Florida’s pet “lemon law,” according to published news reports.

Lawyers are seeking class certification. [August 2009 PET AGE]