Equine Law Blog : Texas Horse Lawyer & Attorney : Kelly Hart & Hallman, LLP : Equine Legal Matters, Racing, Thoroughbreds : Dallas, Fort Worth, Texas

The Fort Worth Court of Appeals has affirmed the 348^th District Court of Tarrant County’s dismissal of horse trainer Rebecca “Becky” George’s lawsuit against Adam Deardorff and Lana Wirsig, holding that the trial court lacked personal jurisdiction over Wirsig and Deardorff.

Becky George of Tomball, Texas alleged that statements by Deardorff and Wirsig were submitted to the American Paint Horse Association (APHA), which caused the APHA to revoke George’s status as an official APHA judge and suspend her from APHA competitions for six months. George alleged that the suspension caused her to lose more than half of her clients.

All parties agreed that Deardorff was a resident of Pennsylvania, and Wirsig was a resident of Missouri. The trial court dismissed George's claims against Deardorff and Wirsig on jurisdictional grounds. According to the Court of Appeals, George did not meet her burden to allege facts sufficient to give the trial court personal jurisdiction over Deardorff and Wirsig, because:

1) George asserted in her pleadings that another defendant named Harlan Hall (and not Deardorff or Wirsig) submitted Deardorff and Wirsig’s statement to the APHA (which is based in Fort Worth). 

2) George alleged that Deardorff had engaged in negotiations with Hall regarding the possibility of Hall hiring Deardorff to become the Hall family’s horse trainer in Texas. But George did not allege where these negotiations occurred or allege any other facts about these negotiations.

3) Even if Deardorff and/or Wirsig had submitted their statements to the APHA, this allegation is not sufficient to establish personal jurisdiction because it “was too is too random or isolated to constitute purposeful availment and does not show that Deardorff or Wirsig sought some benefit, advantage, or profit by availing themselves of Texas.”

 4) George’s claim asserting a civil conspiracy among Deardorff, Wirsig, and Hall (a Texas resident) did not impute Hall’s acts to Deardorff and Wirsig. The court held that George had to establish jurisdiction over Deardorff and Wirsig individually and not based on the acts of another person as part of a conspiracy.

5) George argued that Deardorff and Wirsig attended APHA events and that Wirsig competed in APHA-sponsored events, and because the APHA is headquartered in Texas, these acts constitute doing business in Texas. The Court of Appeals overruled this argument because George did not allege that Deardorff and Wirsig attended any of these events in Texas, much less that their contacts with Texas in connection with these events constituted purposeful availment of the laws of Texas.

6) George claimed that Wirsig was a customer of George, and George’s business is located in Texas. But George never alleged that Wirsig ever did business with George in Texas or other facts showing that Wirsig purposefully invoked the benefits of Texas laws by using George’s services.

As you can see, a defendant's isolated or indirect contacts with Texas do not always give rise to jurisdition in Texas.  The defendant must usually be shown to have committed a tort in Texas, to have done busniess in Texas, or to have otherwise purposefully availed himself of the protections of Texas law to in order to submit to the jurisdiction of Texas courts.  Plaintiffs should always plead jurisdictional facts against out-of-state defendants in a detailed manner to demonstrate the defendant's specific acts undertaken in Texas.

Plaintiffs to litigation against defendants who reside in other states should carefully consider jurisdictional factors before deciding where to bring suit. Filing suit in the correct forum to begin with can expedite the litigation process and save attorneys’ fees and court costs. Typically, jurisdiction is proper in the state and county were the defendant resides. If a defendant has a possible “quick way out” of a lawsuit by challenging personal jurisdiction, a defendant will usually take advantage of this.  If a defendant's suit is dismissed on jurisdictional grounds, the plaintiff must then sue them again in a proper forum.  But the plaintiff must act expediently in doing so to ensure that the statute of limitations does not expire before the new suit is filed.

Case information: George v. Deardorff, No. 02-11-00173-CV, 2012 WL 335854, (Tex. App.—Fort Worth, Feb. 2, 2012).

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As I’ve previously stated in this prior post, negligence and malpractice lawsuits against veterinarians are generally “tough sleddin’” for plaintiffs in Texas. Would-be plaintiffs who wish to sue their veterinarians often face major obstacles such as: 1) proving damages; 2) obtaining effective expert testimony; 3) paying litigation expenses where there is a low likelihood of recovery; and 4) finding a lawyer experienced in representing plaintiffs in veterinary malpractice suits.

Last year’s defense verdict in the lawsuit brought by Larry and Lynn Welk against Dr. Jeffrey A. Foland and Weatherford Equine Medical Center, P.C. illustrates some of these difficulties.

If Larry Welk’s name sounds familiar to you, it may be because his father was the famous bandleader Lawrence Welk, host of the long-lived Lawrence Welk Show. Larry and Lynn Welk’s Champagne Ranch, based in Malibu, California, is in fact named after the “champagne music” made famous by Larry’s father.   

The Welks’ lawsuit, filed in the 415^th District Court of Parker County, Texas (Judge Graham Quisenberry, presiding), centered around the alleged stifle injuries sustained by their young stallion, Juan Bad Cat. The Welks alleged that Dr. Foland had injected the horse’s stifles and performed a surgery without first consulting with the Welks or the horse’s previous veterinarian. The horse's prior veterinarian was the late Dr. Van E. Snow of Santa Ynez, California.  According to the Welks’ suit, they lost the opportunity to compete and syndicate Juan Bad Cat due to Dr. Foland’s alleged negligence and malpractice. The Welks sought damages of approximately $3 million against Dr. Foland and his clinic.

Dr. Foland and his clinic filed counterclaims against the Welks, seeking damages for an unpaid veterinary bill, attorneys’ fees, and court costs. 

The Welks were represented by Robert Talaska and Theodore G. Skarbowski, both based in Houston, Texas. Talaska’s firm, according to its website, specializes in human birth injuries. Skarbowski’s firm assists clients with such matters as National Firearms Act gun trusts, commercial litigation, contracts, and estate planning-- per its website. 

Dr. Foland and his veterinary clinic were represented by Dr. Donald A. Ferrill of Brown, Pruitt, Peterson & Wambsganss, P.C. in Fort Worth, Texas. Dr. Ferrill is both a licensed veterinarian and an attorney who regularly represents veterinarians.

After a jury trial in September 2011 that lasted about 9 days, the jury returned a verdict in favor of Dr. Foland and his clinic for approximately $192,000 for an unpaid vet bill and attorneys’ fees. The jury awarded zero damages to the Welks.

I recently got the opportunity to catch up with Don Ferrill, the lawyer who represented Dr. Foland and his clinic, to talk about the evidence revealed in the case. According to Ferrill, “Dr. Snow diagnosed and had been treating the horse for what he believed was a congenital condition in its right stifle since it was approximately one year of age.  The colt was not any worse off after Dr. Foland treated him than he was before the treatment.” 

The plaintiffs’ expert witnesses, when pressed for details on cross examination, gave testimony that helped the defense, according to Ferrill. 

“The evidence showed that Dr. Foland did consult with Dr. Snow’s office prior to performing surgery on the horse, and that Dr. Snow advised Dr. Foland to do the surgery at issue,” said Ferrill. Darren Simpkins, the Welks’ horse trainer who was boarding and training Juan Bad Cat in Texas at the time, testified that he gave Dr. Foland permission to perform the stifle injections, according to Ferrill. “These injections [Vetalog and hyaluronic acid] did not numb pain in the horse’s limbs, did not contribute to lameness, and were the type that performance horses typically receive for routine maintenance,” said Ferrill.   The Welks also had Dr. Foland perform a colic surgery on one of their other horses after the lawsuit was filed, according to Ferrill.

“Prior to the depositions of Darren Simpkins and his wife, Kelly Simpkins, Ted Skarbowski warned Kelly Simpkins that the Welks would sue them if they testified that they gave Dr. Foland permission to perform the injections”, according to Ferrill. “Darren Simpkins nonetheless testified in his deposition that he gave Dr. Foland permission to inject the horse, and the Welks sued the Simpkinses in federal court for breach of fiduciary duty”, Ferrill said. The federal case against the Simpkinses was later dismissed because the statute of limitations on the Welks’ claims against the Simpkinses had already run. 

As an aside, I briefly discussed the Simpkins case and its significance in this prior post. 

In Judge McBryde's Memorandum Opinion and Order of March 10, 2010 in the federal case, Judge McBryde stated on page 20, “To put the matter mildly, the testimony given by plaintiffs on February 10, 2010, is suspect.”  He then goes on to explain how the Welks' deposition testimony in the case against Dr. Foland directly contradicts their depositions in the federal court case.

According to the Champagne Ranch website, Juan Bad Cat stood at stud in 2011 at ESMS in Weatherford, Texas for a fee of $1,500 plus chute fee.

In December 2011, Judge Quisenberry reduced the amount of attorney’s fees awarded to Dr. Foland by the jury as a result of a JNOV (judgment notwithstanding the verdict) motion filed by the Welks’ lawyers. Nonetheless, the final judgment still ordered the Welks to pay damages to Dr. Foland and his clinic, and the Welks took nothing on their claims. According to Ferrill, the Welks also had to pay their own attorneys’ fees pursuant to their fee agreements with their lawyers.

Case Information: Larry and Lynn Welk v. Dr. Jeffrey A. Foland and Weatherford Equine Medical Center P.C., Cause No. CV-07-1322 in the 415th District Court of Parker County, Texas; Lynn Welk, et al. v. Darren Simpkins, et al.; Case 4:09-CV-00456-A in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas (Fort Worth Division).

**Note: Thank you to the readers who requested that I cover this case on the Equine Law Blog last fall after the jury reached its verdict. Generally, my policy is to not comment on a case until after its full and final disposition, which in this case happened in late December, 2011. Thank you for reading and for submitting topic suggestions!**

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Texas Racing Commission v. Marquez, a recent opinion from the Austin Court of Appeals, involved a horse race where two horses owned by Javier Marquez were inadvertently wearing each other’s saddle cloth numbers. One of the horses suffering from this “wardrobe malfunction” finished second, and the race stewards disqualified both horses and redistributed the race purse.

When the Texas Racing Commission refused to hear Marquez’s appeal of the stewards’ decision, Marquez sued the Texas Racing Commission and its executive director, Charla Ann King.

Marquez won big in the trial court. The trial court declared that Ms. King acted in excess of her statutory authority by refusing Marquez’s appeal, by disqualifying Marquez’s horses, and by redistributing the race purse. The trial court also awarded Marquez his attorneys’ fees under the Uniform Declaratory Judgment Act, and ordered the second place race purse distributed to Marquez. The Racing Commission appealed the decision.

On appeal, the Austin Court of Appeals found that Ms. King did exceed her authority in denying Marquez’s appeal of the stewards’ decision and upheld Marquez’s attorneys’ fees award under the Declaratory Judgment Act. However, the Court of Appeals vacated and dismissed the portion of the trial court’s judgment that awarded the second place race purse to be distributed to Marquez.

The trial court’s logic: TheTexas Racing Commission has exclusive jurisdiction over the issue of the second place race purse. Marquez needs to exhaust his administrative remedies by moving forward with his appeal before the Texas Racing Commission that he fought for in the trial court. 

Ironically, the Texas Racing Commission (the same entity that Marquez sued and fought on appeal) will get to decide whether or not Marquez will get the purse that his horse won when it was wearing the wrong “outfit”. 

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The Honorable Kenneth M. Hoyt, district judge for the Southern District of Texas, rejected claims for lost profits brought by Jim Simpson, Ken Ridenour, and Mel Karr arising from injuries allegedly sustained by “Jess for th Memories” [sic], an AQHA race horse they co-owed.

Like many race horses, Jess received maintenance joint and suspensory injections. After receiving a couple of rounds of injections in his hind and fore limbs in 2009, Jess broke his maiden as a 3-year-old at Sam Houston Race Park.   Here is the story on Jess's win.  About a month after Jess broke his maiden, Dr. Tom Hays at Elgin Veterinary Clinic observed problems in Jess’s stifles and could not rehabilitate him. Jess was no longer able to race. Judging from the pleadings in the case, Jess was gelded at some point after he won his race at Sam Houston.

Jess’s owners sued Louisiana-based Baronne Veterinary Clinic, Inc. They alleged that Dr. Ed Baronne was negligent and failed to meet the standard of care when he performed joint injections on Jess, allegedly resulting in “debilitating joint infections.” Baronne filed a motion for summary judgment in the case.

In his Memorandum Opinion and Order on Baronne’s motion, Judge Hoyt allowed the plaintiffs’ negligence claim to move forward, but dismissed the plaintiffs’ gross negligence and lost potential profits claims, stating,

Texas law does not allow an injured animal’s owner to recover the animal’s lost potential profits…Rather, a plaintiff’s recovery is limited to the difference in the animal’s market value immediately before and after any injury alleged to have been caused by the defendant.

* * *

The plaintiffs seek to recover speculative lost profits for a gelded race horse, and that horse’s potential profits are far too uncertain to be recoverable. Horse racing is considered gambling for a reason."

[Emphasis added, citations omitted]. 

The case settled shortly after Judge Hoyt’s opinion was issued, resulting in its agreed dismissal on April 1, 2011. 

Case info: Simpson et al v Baronne Veterinary Clinic, Inc., No. 10-CV-03032, filed Dec. 21, 2009 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas.

Hat tip to Krysia Nelson at Equine Law & Business Letter for noticing this case first.

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On July 28, 2011, the Fort Worth Court of Appeals affirmed the entire judgment in favor of the National Cutting Horse Association in the Paula Gaughan lawsuit. A copy of the Gaughan opinion can be found here. [Note: Westlaw has labeled this case, in error, as a Waco Court of Appeals case. The opinion was issued by the Fort Worth Court of Appeals].

Gaughan Recap: The Gaughan case stemmed from Paula Gaughan’s written requests to NCHA to inspect certain financial data found in the books and records of the NCHA. Gaughan sought the records to make sure the NCHA was “not guilty of waste or mismanagement in its financial affairs and in the administration of the NCHA’s business.” The NCHA produced 89,214 pages of documents to Gaughan under a protective order, but designated 36,556 of those pages as confidential. Gaughan wanted to share all of the documents with other NCHA members, which was one of the points of contention in the case.

A fellow by the name of Dean Sanders was also originally a plaintiff in the case, but he later dropped out. In November 2009, the 67^th District Court in Fort Worth granted a motion for summary judgment in favor of the NCHA and ordered Gaughan and Sanders [even though he had dropped out of the case] to pay NCHA’s attorneys’ fees in the amount of $75,000 [NCHA had asked for $84,243].

Both Gaughan and the NCHA have issued public statements about the July 28, 2011 appellate opinion affirming the judgment, and they can be found here.

The Gaughan appellate decision comes on the heels of Lainie Whitmire’s May 13, 2011 appeal of the trial court’s surprising judgment in her case against the NCHA.

Whitmire Recap: In January 2011, the Whitmire case was tried to a jury in the 236^th District Court of Tarrant County (Judge Tom Lowe, presiding). The jury found that NCHA officials “falsely imprisoned” Lainie Whitmire during the 2004 NCHA Futurity. According to Whitmire, they had taken her to a room at the Will Rogers Coliseum and allegedly not allowed her to leave while questioning her about her amateur status. The jury also determined that the NCHA breached an oral agreement with Whitmire leading her to believe her suspended NCHA membership and Amateur or Non-Pro status would be restored. The jury awarded no monetary damages on the false imprisonment claim, but it awarded Whitmire $70,000 in mental anguish damages against the NCHA on the claim related to the oral agreement.

In a turn of events that was shocking to many who were following the Whitmire case, the final judgment signed by Judge Lowe on April 15, 2011 overturned the jury verdict and ordered the Whitmires to pay the NCHA $347,000 in attorneys’ fees and court costs. The parties had spent four years and more than $1.6 million in attorneys’ fees and court costs in the Whitmire matter.

Whitmire appealed the case to the Fort Worth Court of Appeals on May 13, 2011. The parties have until August 15 to submit briefs to the court. For more information, see this article in the Quarter Horse News.

Stay tuned for more developments on the Whitmire appeal as they unfold. 

Follow me on Twitter @alisonmrowe

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