ALDF Animal Legal Defense
Fund
April 2018
Represented by the Animal Legal Defense Fund, Justice the Horse Sues Former Abuser.
Justice
Hillsboro, Oregon – Justice, an eight-year-old horse, is a party to a
lawsuit filed today against his former abuser to recover the costs of his
ongoing medical care and his pain and suffering. Justice is represented by
the Animal Legal Defense Fund, the nation’s preeminent legal advocacy
organization for animals. If successful, this groundbreaking lawsuit would
be the first to establish that animals have a legal right to sue their
abusers in court.
“Horses, like Justice, are intelligent animals with the capacity for rich
emotional lives,” says Animal Legal Defense Fund Executive Director Stephen
Wells. “Oregon law already recognizes Justice’s right to be free from
cruelty – this lawsuit simply expands the remedies available when abusers
violate animals’ legal rights.”
Justice was cruelly neglected for months and endured tremendous pain and
suffering. At the time of his rescue, he was emaciated and suffered from
frostbite, lice, and rain rot. As a result of his neglect, Justice endured
permanent physical and psychological injuries that will require specialized
medical care for the rest of his life.
Justice’s abuser pled guilty to criminal animal neglect in 2017. In the
criminal plea agreement, she agreed to pay restitution only for the cost of
Justice’s care prior to July 6, 2017. The lawsuit seeks damages for
Justice’s care since this date and going forward. Any funds awarded to
Justice through the lawsuit would be placed in a legal trust established to
pay for his care.
Justice was relinquished to Sound Equine Options, an Oregon nonprofit horse
rescue and rehabilitation organization. His complicated medical needs are a
barrier to finding a permanent home for him, a problem exacerbated by the
significant costs of his care.
The Oregon legislature and courts have been a leader in recognizing that
animals are sentient beings that occupy a unique position in the law. The
Oregon Supreme Court, for example, has already recognized that animals
should be considered individual “victims” in criminal animal cruelty cases.
However, existing laws still lag far behind our current understanding of
animal sentience by classifying animals as property.
The Animal Legal Defense Fund thanks the law firm Lane Powell and the Law
Office of Matt Hamity for their assistance on this case.
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