$25,000
Awarded
Horse owners sue veterinarian for death of their Arabian stallion
Professional Malpractice*Veterinarian
Surgery/Procedures*Intubation
Surgery/Procedures*Miscellaneous
Personal Property*Damage
San Diego County Superior Court
Kohl v. Amaral, No. GIC757926. Central. E. Mac Amos, Jr. Jury trial: 6 days. Verdict/Judgment Date: 11/28/01.
Verdict/Judgement: $25,000
Vote: 12-0 liability; 9-3 damages. Deliberations: 3 hours.
Trial Counsel
Plaintiff: Charles S. LiMandri, Law Offices of Charles S. LiMandri, Rancho Santa Fe.
Defendant: Steve R. Schwartz, Wallace, Grantham & Schwartz, Los Angeles.
Facts/Contentions
According to plaintiff: Owners of a champion stallion sued a veterinarian for professional malpractice, which resulted in the death of their horse. The plaintiffs were Karen and William Kohl. The defendant was Gary Amaral, a veterinarian. Plaintiff’s business of breeding valuable Egyptian Arabian horses centered on one unique, prize champion stallion. Defendant, the stallion’s long-term veterinarian, was required to perform a naso-gastric intubation of mineral oil into the stallion’s stomach to ease the horse’s gastric problems. Defendant botched the procedure and caused the horse’s death. The horse died aspirating the mineral oil into its lungs because defendant pumped the oil through the tube without assuring that the tube’s terminus remained in the stomach. Defendant purposely continued to pump the oil at a hurried pace, to drain the bucket, even after learning that the tube was slipping and that it likely had come out of the stomach. Plaintiffs alleged that defendant’s negligence proximately caused the death of their stallion. Plaintiffs further alleged that their horse was a rare, champion Egyptian Arabian stallion that was sired by a stallion belonging to the most celebrated line of Egyptian Arabian stallions in this century, and stood at the core of their horse showing and breeding business. Plaintiff also alleged that the defendant’s expert, James Lowe, was a trainer and not an appraiser, and was unfamiliar with the stallion and was unaware of the stallion’s lineage. Plaintiff’s further alleged that he testified about the horse’s worth, without adequate basis, and ignored the fact that each foal sired by Plaintiff’s horse alone fetched $5,000 to $10,000.
Defendant contended that plaintiffs were contributorily negligent. (This defense utterly failed, as it was ascertainable from the outset that defendant’s negligence was the proximate cause of the stallion’s death as a matter of law.)
According to defendant: Owners of an Arabian stallion sued a veterinarian for professional malpractice, which resulted the death of their horse. The plaintiffs were Karen and William Kohl. The defendant was Gary Amaral, a veterinarian. Plaintiff’s Arabian stallion was treated with nasogastric stomach intubation of mineral oil for colic. There was oil aspiration, which caused respiratory distress, aspiration pneumonia and death, subsequent to abdominal surgery. Plaintiff alleged that their Arabian stallion was a valuable champion worth $400,000 to $450,000.
Defendant contended that plaintiff Karen Kohl, a professional horse breeder, was comparatively at fault for not holding the horse properly during intubation.
Claimed Injuries
According to plaintiff: Death. According to defendant: Same as above.
Claimed Damages
According to plaintiff: $400,000 to $500,000 damages for the loss of a rare horse. According to defendant: $400,000 to $450,000 value of the champion stallion.
Settlement Discussions
According to plaintiff: Demand: Not reported. Offer: Defendants refused to settle for “even a penny.”
According to defendant: Demand: $1,000,000 (CCP 998), reduced to $300,000. Offer: Not reported.
Trial Experts
Plaintiff: Don Burt, horse appraiser, Rancho Palso Verdes.
Plaintiff: Willard Ommert, veterinarian, Temecula.
Defendant: James Lowe, Arabian horse trainer/appraiser, Scottsdale.
Defendant: Jeffery Oney, veterinarian, Pasadena.
Expert Testimony
According to plaintiff: The defense expert James Lowe, a horse trainer, testified that the horse was worth only $10,000 to $20,000.
Comments
According to plaintiff: The court denied plaintiff’s request for a jury instruction on the “peculiar value” of the horse, pursuant to Civil Code §3355. The verdict was reached approximately one year and one month after the case was filed. Plaintiffs filed a motion for new trial limited to damages, or alternatively, additur, which was set to be heard on January 25, 2002. Plaintiffs also submitted a memorandum of costs in the amount of $156,602, which included $147,527 in attorney fees and expert fees for defendant’s unreasonable denial of plaintiffs’ requests for admissions on liability, per CCP §2033(o). The motion for fees was to be heard at the same time as the motion for new trial/additur.