If the Texas Workers’ Compensation Act and the Texas Farm Animal Limitation of Liability Act got into a fight, who would win? The Supreme Court of Texas might have just metaphorically placed its money on the farm animals.
The Court held last week in Texas West Oaks Hosp. v. Williams, that an employee of a nonsubscriber
In general, a defendant can only be immune from suit in a Texas horse-related injury case if the plaintiff was a “participant in a farm animal activity or livestock show” when the injuries occurred.
Chapter 87 of the Texas Civil Practice & Remedies Code (the “Act”) was amended in 2011 to, among other things, include
If you are thinking about buying or selling a horse on a “trial basis”, or if you are entering into a horse sale agreement with a trial period, here are five of the most important things you should consider:
1) The Timing of the Pre-Purchase Exam. The most important consideration in horse sales is
Russell D. Cawyer, a lawyer in my firm who publishes the Texas Employment Law Update, offers the following insights on the decision many horse farms are faced with…do you need to buy worker’s compensation insurance?
"Most farm, ranch and horse owners are employers to some extent or another. Whether employing stable workers, trainers, or
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
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
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
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
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.
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