Equine Law Blog : Texas Horse Lawyer & Attorney : Alison Rowe Law Firm : Equine Legal Matters, Racing, Thoroughbreds : Dallas, Bryan, Texas

Special Event Liability insurance will be the final topic of this week's discussion about the various types of equine liability insurance available for purchase.  If you are hosting an event such as a clinic, a roping, a show or a trail ride, you should consider buying insurance.

Special Event Liability insurance typically extends to the organization putting on the show and its members.  Show officials, committee members, judges, course designers and premises owners can usually be included as additional insureds (and I recommend getting coverage for all of the above, if applicable).

If considering Special Event Liability insurance, ask your agent what types of incidents are covered and what parts of the premises are covered.  Many accidents that occur at a horse event do not involve horses and do not happen in the arena.  I know of one instance where a horse show sponsor was sued in connection with a golf cart wreck in the parking lot.  As such, the Equine Activity Laws will not always provide a defense so you need to make sure you have insurance coverage.

Also, make sure that claims made by spectators and guests (not just participants) are covered under the policy.

In addition to Special Event Liability insurance, I recommend that event sponsors1) post the Equine Activity Law signs at the event; and 2) have each participant sign a liability waiver form that is a separate document from the entry form.

The "downside" for some sponsors (depending on the event) is that the liability carrier may prohibit the sponsor from allowing dogs or alcohol on the premises during the event.  Even if the sponsor is not selling alcohol, that "col'beer" in people's private ice chests in their pickups might be disallowed under the insurance policy.  So add dogs and beer to the list of things to discuss with your agent to make sure you're covered.

Photo credit:  Eric Ashford (Flikr)

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If you board, breed, race, train, give riding lessons or conduct any kind of business-related equine activity, I highly recommend that you consider a Commercial Equine Liability policy. 

Homeowner’s and standard Farm & Ranch insurance policies completely exclude your equine business pursuits. 

Commercial liability insurance pays the damages for liability imposed upon you or your business by a liability claim or court judgment.  It also pays the cost of defending you when a lawsuit is brought against you.

This policy kicks in when an accident occurs and someone is hurt, regardless of whether you own the horse involved.

However, the basic Commercial Equine Liability policy does not cover claims for damage to property in your care, custody or control.  If someone claims, for example, that you injured their horse in the course of training it, you would need a Care, Custody & Control policy to cover that damage claim.

The Equine Activity Laws may help you provide a defense in the event of an equine incident, but they will not prevent you from being sued.  Without adequate liability coverage you will have to pay damages and defense costs yourself.  And the Equine Liability Laws only cover “inherent risks” in equine activities.  Some plaintiffs are able to successfully argue that their situation did not involve an “inherent risk”.  In other words, you could lose the case.  It bears repeating that defense costs are generally not recoverable by defendants in Texas lawsuits.

Commercial Equine Liability policies are designed to help protect you if you are sued by a third party who is injured or whose property is damaged.  A third party is generally someone who is not a family member or employee. 

If you have employees, you should consider carrying workman's compensation insurance as they are not covered under the general liability policy.  You should also make sure that any independent contractors that work with you show proof of their own liability insurance and ask that you be named as an Additional Insured on their policy.  This is especially true if you have an independent instructor or trainer working at your facility.

In addition to this policy, I recommend that all equine businesses 1) post the applicable Equine Activity Law in your state in conspicuous areas in your barn and on your property; and 2) have each third party who uses your facility sign a liability waiver that contains a covenant not to sue and specifically waives liability for ordinary negligence.   

Photo credit:  Katarina 2353 (Flikr)

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Care, Custody & Control insurance is meant to cover people who board or train horses or are otherwise responsible for other people’s horses while breeding, showing, or racing them. The policy pays sums you are legally obligated to pay to others for death, injury or theft of horses in your care, custody, or control.

Example: a boarder’s horse dies of colic while it is at your barn, and the owner sues you for negligence.

Almost all general or commercial liability policies exclude coverage for injury or death to any horse in your care, custody or control.

This coverage does not apply to horses you own or lease, which typically are covered by a mortality policy.  Also, a Care, Custody & Control policy also does not cover you if a third-party’s horse in your care injures someone or damages their property. The Care, Custody & Control policy only protects you against claims of damage or loss of the third-party’s horse itself.

The policy typically pays for damages to horses and defense costs for suits brought against you. Premiums are usually based upon the average number of horses in your care or the total number of horses in any one barn, whichever is greater.

The basic policy also covers you if a horse is injured during incidental transit (hauling) of horses. “Incidental transit” is usually defined as 6 trips of 150 miles or less per year. The mileage restriction can usually be eliminated for an additional premium.

This coverage is especially recommended for trainers due to the multiple ways a horse can be injured in the course of a training program.

In addition to a Care, Custody & Control policy, I also recommended that trainers and boarding facilities get a written agreement with clients that includes 1) a “risk of loss” clause where the client assumes all risk of loss or injury to the horse; and 2) a veterinary power of attorney whereby the client agrees that the trainer or boarding facility has the discretion to provide veterinary care if the owner cannot be contacted.

Photo credit:  Markus Shaltrin

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In yesterday’s post, we talked about the Private Horseowner’s Liability policy and discussed the ways it might cover a horse owner for liability claims that are not covered by a basic farm and ranch policy. Does that mean that holders of PHO policies do not need a farm and ranch policy? Not necessarily.

A basic farm and ranch policy can be compared to an extended “homeowner’s policy” for farm or ranch owners. Although many insurance companies allow clients to customize their farm and ranch policies to cover additional perils, the basic farm and ranch policy typically covers the following instances:

•  Loss of your home or certain types of damage to your home;
•  Loss of your barn or outbuildings or certain types of damage to your barn or outbuildings;
•  Accidental death of your horses caused by lightning, fire, predator attack, accidental shooting, or drowning;
• Liability claims brought by third parties who are on your property with your permission and the incident did not happen in connection with your equine business operations; and
• Medical bills for third parties who are on your property with your permission are are injured from an occurence that did not arise from your equine business operation.

The basic farm and ranch policy does not typically cover the following instances:

•  Incidents that do not occur on your property; 
• Liability claims for medical bills or damages brought by family members or employees;  
• Horses that die or have to put down due to injury or sickness;
• Accidents caused by horses that do not belong to you; and
• Accidents that arise from your equine business operations.

For people who own a farm or ranch, a basic farm and ranch policy is usually a good idea. This type of policy should be considered in lieu of the basic homeowner’s policy due to the additional coverages available.

But there are many ways in which a farm owner can be held personally liable even when covered by a basic farm and ranch policy. Therefore, it is advisable to ask your insurance agent exactly what is covered so that additional insurance can be purchased, if necessary.

The most important thing to remember is that if you are sued, you want to be covered by insurance. No matter how frivolous or unmeritorious the claim, you will still have to hire an attorney to defend you. Legal fees are costly, and usually not recoverable by defendants in law suits.

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Many lawsuits involving horses can be avoided altogether if the right insurance policy is in place. Or, if a lawsuit cannot be avoided, a horse owner with the right insurance policy does not have to rack up $75k plus getting their case to trial and face a potential judgment of thousands or millions of dollars.

Remember, posting the Chapter 87 Equine Activity Act sign, setting up an LLC, or getting people to sign a liability waiver does not immunize you from suit.  If you are sued, you will still have to pay a lawyer to defend you even if you eventually win the case.  In Texas, defendants usually cannot recover attorneys' fees in court.

So, the theme this week is equine insurance.  Do you need it and what kind do you need?

In the May 2010 Issue of SuperLooper, insurance specialist Amy J. Daum talks about Private Horseowner's Liability Policies (PHOs).

A PHO is meant to cover you if your horse directly injures someone or damages someone's property, and you are sued.  Some examples of when a PHO might cover you are:

1) One of your horses gets out of your pasture and is hit by a car, and the motorist sues you;

2) Your horse is tied to your horse trailer at a show or roping and kicks someone's child while you are around the corner doing something else; and

3) You allow your friend to ride your best horse and he falls off when your horse stops quickly.  Your friend has no medical insurance so has to sue you to pay his medical bills.

Even if you have a farm & ranch or homeowner's policy, a PHO might cover you under circumstances that your farm & ranch policy would not.  For example, some farm & ranch or homeowner's policies will not cover you if the accident happened off your property.  Also, if an accident happens at an event where money can be won (roping, barrel race, cutting, etc), some policies will consider the event a "commerical activity" and exclude coverage.  

The really cool thing about PHOs is that they are cheap!   By way of example, PHOs with Broadstone Equine Insurance Agency start at about $130 per year for $300,000 in coverage, and $235 per year for $1million in coverage.  

Even the $1 million policy costs less per year than one hour of work for the average trial lawyer!

But PHOs are not available for everyone.  Daum says that an equine professional who teaches lessons, boards, trains, or buys and sells horses cannot get a PHO.  

Also, a PHO only covers you if you are sued by a "third party".  A third party is someone who is not a family member or someone performing services for you (such as a vet, farrier, or employee). 

An equine professional or someone being sued by a service provider could be covered by a general liability policy, a type of insurance that will be discussed in a future post.

For those horseowners who do qualify, I believe getting a PHO is worth the money.  This is especially so if 1) you haul to shows, ropings, or rodeos on a regular basis, 2) other people will frequently be riding your horses, or 2) you have any reason to believe your horses might get out and make their way onto a road.

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Equine mortality and major medical insurance policies often contain a provision stipulating that any action or proceeding under the policy must be brought within a certain period of time, typically one year. 

Absent a contractual provision to the contrary, the statute of limitations applicable to an action based in contract will apply to an action under an insurance policy (for example, an insurance coverage dispute). 

Are contractual limitations periods in insurance policies enforceable?  Generally, courts will enforce the limitations provisions unless they violate limitations-related statutory law in the state the policy was issued or delivered, or in the state where the law suit is brought.  In rarer instances, courts have refused to enforce insurance policy limitations periods because they were judicially interpreted to be "unreasonable."

Statutory prohibitions.  Some states have statutes voiding limitations periods that are shorter than a given period of time.  Thus, the limitations-related statutes in the state in which you are seeking to enforce your policy must be consulted to determine the applicability of a given provision.  Under Texas law, any contractual limitations period is void if it is shorter than two (2) years.  See Texas Civil Practice & Remedies Code, Section 16.070(a).  In Maryland, an insurance or surety contract cannot set a shorter time to bring an action under the contract than required by the state where the insurance contract is issued or delivered.  See Section 12-104 of the Maryland Insurance Code.  Maryland has a 3 year statue of limitations for contract actions.  Thus, a one-year contractual limitations period in an equine insurance policy would be void in Texas and Maryland.  Absent such statutory prohibitions, however, the contractual limitations period in the insurance contract will be enforced.

Does the limitations period in the policy cover my tort-related claim of "bad faith" denial of coverage or "unreasonable delay"?  Probably.  Many insured litigants argue that their tort claims such as bad faith are not covered under the contractual limitations period because the tort claim is not a "claim under the policy."  Although courts have entertained (and sometimes agreed with) this argument, according to insurance fraud lawyer Rick Hammond, the weight of the cases tend to enforce the statutory limitations period for all claims related to the policy.  Of course, the contractual limitations period will not apply to any claim if it is void under state law, as discussed above.

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An attorney called me last week to ask what her client, a trainer, should do about a prospective buyer who had picked up a horse from the trainer to "try out" but failed to bring the horse back after the trial period.  The trainer had been hired by the horse's owner to find a buyer for the horse.  After months of trying to make contact with the prospective buyer, the trainer finally made contact to learn that the horse had allegedly died of colic while in the prospective buyer's care.  There were no written agreements between the owner and trainer or owner/trainer and prospective buyer.

The first thing I asked was whether they called the police or sheriff when the horse was not returned.  In potential theft situations, it is always advisable to call law enforcement and get a copy of their report.  I also suggested a bit of investigative work to determine if the horse was, in fact, dead.  They had called the vet the prospective buyer usually uses, but the vet had no record of seeing the horse.  I suggested that they send a letter to the prospective buyer asking for proof that the animal was euthanized and asking him to pay the asking price for the horse.  The next step was to file suit if he did not pay (I suggested that she make the trainer and owner joint plaintiffs).

Under Texas law, the trainer and owner in this situation have a colorable claim for conversion and theft under the Texas Theft Liability Act (the "TTLA") against the potential buyer.  People with ownership or possessory rights have standing on both claims. And assuming the trainer spent money to take care of the horse while in her care and was going to get a commission on the sale, the damages element is also satisfied as to the trainer.  Attorneys’ fees and costs are recoverable by the prevailing party under the TTLA.

Is the trainer liable to the owner in this situation?  The trainer would only be liable to the owner under the “principal-agent” theory if the trainer acted without actual authority when she gave the horse to the prospective buyer to try out.

What's the lesson here?  The trainer and owner would have been in a better position if they had obtained a written agreement with the prospective buyer containing a "risk of loss" provision, whereby the prospective buyer would agree to pay the owner if the horse died or was injured in the prospective buyer's care.  The trainer could have also required the prospective buyers to make payment in escrow for the horse, and agreed to return the money if and when the horse was returned.

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