Equine Law Blog

Julie Fershtman Scores Another Equine Law Victory

Julie Fershtman, a shareholder at Foster Swift, secured summary judgment in favor of her client, an equine boarding and riding stable, on April 2, 2014.

The plaintiff accompanied his granddaughter to her riding lesson at a private stable and watched her ride from the observation room. When the lesson ended, he entered the barn aisle to ask the riding instructor questions about saddles. The plaintiff claimed that while standing in the barn aisle, with his back to the aisle, an unknown person led a horse too close behind him that brushed against his back, causing him to lose his balance and fall down. He claimed that he sustained significant injuries as a result.

In his lawsuit against the stable, the plaintiff claimed that it was negligent and violated Michigan’s Equine Activity Liability Act. Although the plaintiff claimed that the stable should be liable for his injuries, he could not identify whose horse allegedly struck him, who was leading the horse, and whether the horse’s handler was even an employee or student of the stable over whom the stable might have some degree of control. The plaintiff even admitted that the stable’s manager was unaware of the approaching horse before the incident occurred and was in no position to warn him or take protective action. He also could not prove that the stable instructed the handler to announce when he or she walked behind people in the barn.

Fershtman argued that without sufficient proof of a special relationship between the horse’s handler and the stable, the plaintiff’s case should be dismissed on the basis of lack of duty and lack of causation. The Court agreed with Fershtman and issued a 13-page opinion granting her motion to dismiss the case in its entirety against her client.

To learn more about this ruling or Foster Swift’s Equine Law services, please contact Julie Fershtman at jfershtman@fosterswift.com.

Categories: Boarding, Liability