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

On April 23, 2012, AQHA member Jason Abraham and two related business entities sued the American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA) in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, Amarillo Division.

The complaint asks the court to order the AQHA to revoke AQHA Rule 227(a), on the basis that an outright restriction on the registration of cloned horses and their offspring allegedly violates federal antitrust laws.

Rule 227(a) was approved in 2004 by the AQHA board of directors, which prohibits all cloned horses and their offspring from being included in the AQHA’s breed registry. 

Other breed registries, such as the Jockey Club and the Paso Fino Horse Association, have also ruled that cloned horses and their offspring are not eligible for registration.

As discussed in this prior post, Texas law (which may or may not be deemed applicable in this case) favors a policy of judicial non-intervention with respect to the internal affairs of voluntary associations, such as the AQHA. An exception to Texas’s policy of judicial non-intervention can apply in cases where a valuable right or property interest is at stake in a lawsuit, and cases where a voluntary association’s rules violate the law.

For more information, see the following articles:

Lawsuit Challenges AQHA Cloned Horse Registration Policy

Suit Filed: Claims AQHA Ban on Cloned Horses Violates Antitrust Law

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Here’s another case that demonstrates the importance of filing suit in the correct jurisdiction.

Remember Becky George’s APHA defamation case that was dismissed due to lack of personal jurisdiction? George was represented by Thomas Corea of the Corea Law Firm, PLLC in that matter. 

Thomas Corea represented John Anthony “Tony” Burris in another lawsuit involving an allegedly defamatory letter that defendants Pamela J. Bilek, the Bilek Family Trust, and Bilek Quarter Horses, LLC sent to the American Quarter Horse Association (“AQHA”).  The letter at issue complained of Burris's activity as a judge for the AQHA.

Burris’s suit was originally filed in the 40^th District Court of Ellis County, Texas. The Ellis County court dismissed Burris’s suit after determining that the State of Texas lacked personal jurisdiction over the Bilek defendants. Unlike in the Becky George suit, Corea did not appeal this dismissal.

The Ellis County Courthouse, in my hometown of Waxahachie, Texas

Seven days after Burris’s Ellis County case was dismissed, Corea filed (on behalf of Burris) three new lawsuits in Potter, Victoria, and Medina Counties of Texas. All of the new lawsuits alleged the same conduct against Bilek towards Burris that was the subject of the Ellis County lawsuit.

On the same day that the multiple lawsuits were filed, Corea sent an email to Bilek’s counsel advising that,

This is NEVER going away. Pam needs to get that through her drunk head that I will chase her to the end of the earth and she needs to get this settled now.

In response, Bilek’s counsel advised Corea that sanctions would be sought if Corea served any of the three new lawsuits. The Potter County lawsuit (which was identical to the Ellis County suit) was subsequently served on Bilek.

Bilek filed a special appearance (again alleging lack of personal jurisdiction) and motion for sanctions against Corea, the Corea Law Firm, PLLC, and Burris in the Potter County suit. Corea subsequently non-suited the Potter County case.

The 108^th District Court of Potter County held a hearing on the motion for sanctions a couple of days after Corea non-suited the case. Corea appeared at the sanctions hearing by telephone, and did not object to any of the exhibits offered by Bilek’s counsel (who personally appeared).

The court found that all of the same jurisdictional facts alleged in Potter County had already been fully litigated and resolved in Ellis County, and determined that the Potter County suit was brought in bad faith and for purposes of harassment. 

The Potter County court ordered Thomas Corea, the Corea Law Firm, PLLC, and Tony Burris to pay Bilek $50,000 for costs and attorney’s fees, $10,000 to compensate Bilek for the deliberate and intentional harassment and inconvenience, and additional attorney's fees in the event of unsuccessful appeal. 

Corea appealed the sanctions award. The Amarillo Court of Appeals upheld the sanctions awarded by the trial court, in their entirety.

Case information: Corea v. Bilek, 2012 WL 602898, No. 07-11-00114-CV (Tex. App.—Amarillo, Feb. 24, 2012).

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The issue of horse slaughter is on my mind today after reading a news story about the introduction of a U.S. Senate bill proposing the recommencement of horse meat inspection funding.  That's when I poked around on the Internet a bit and found the "Haters List".

In case you haven't seen it, the blog Wild Horse Haters & Horse Slaughter Promoters published a lengthy list of horse hatin’ people and groups (i.e. opponents of the horse slaughter ban in the U.S., according to the blog's publishers) so that the public can boycott them, their members, and their services.

A link to the Haters List can be found here.  The Haters List includes the American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP) and just about every major U.S. horse association, cattle association, and farm association.

Note:  the publisher(s) of the Haters List and the blog on which is appears remain(s) anonymous.

I am a life member of two associations on the Haters List: the American Paint Horse Association and the American Quarter Horse Association.  What about you?

Milt Toby, a colleague of mine in Kentucky, did a blog post a while ago about how the issue of horse slaughter has a way of dividing people. But can we draw general lines to determine who, in general, is in favor of laws allowing for the processing of horse meat in the U.S. versus who is against such laws? 

Upon review of the Haters List, it would seem to me that in general, those who support humane horse processing in the United States are those who, either directly or indirectly, are in the horse business.  This includes the AAEP, a national group of equine veterinarians whose mission includes "meticulous concern for the health and welfare of the horse". 

There are of course others who support horse processing in the U.S. who aren’t directly or indirectly in the horse business. One example is Fort Worth Star Telegram journalist Bob Ray Sanders.  Mr. Sanders’s recent editorial entitled “Congress Should Revisit Ban on Horse Slaughter” cites evidence from the recent Government Accountability Office report.

And surely there are some in the “horse business” who are in favor of government bans on processing horse meat in the U.S.

But assuming the Haters List is correct, it tells us a lot about where the “line in the sand” is drawn. The Haters List seems to indicate that, in general, most horse businesses and equine veterinarians are in favor of humane horse processing in the United States. Do you agree with this assessment? 

While you ponder this poignant question, I’ll leave you with a quote from Milt Toby’s blog this week:

I think the world would be a better place if horses were not being slaughtered for food anywhere.  I think the same thing about cows and pigs and sheep and chickens and tuna and salmon, and I think it’s logically and morally inconsistent to categorically oppose one without opposing all.  And no, I’m not a vegan."

Follow me on Twitter @alisonmrowe

**19 SEP 2011 Clarification:  Out of all of my readers, only two individuals read this post and thought that I agreed with the publishers of the "Haters List" and that I don't believe that any animals should be processed for meat.  Although most people "got" where I was coming from on this issue, this alterted me to the fact that I may need to clarify some things.  I was "poking fun", tongue in cheek, at the anonymous publishers of the "Haters List" because I feel that their methods greatly reduce their credibility.  I was also asking if anyone agreed with me that it seems that most equine vets and most people who are in the horse business support humane processing.  As far as Milt Toby's quote goes, I read it as saying that Milt believes you can't categorically oppose humane horse slaughter unless you also oppose the humane slaughter of other animals.**

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