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SME Law

Horse play leaves lawyer facing lawsuit

A Sullivan & Cromwell lawyer is being sued following a “power struggle” in a not-for-profit organisation that prevents old racehorses from going to the knackers.

February 16, 2012 By Justin Whealing
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Thomson Reuters reports that the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation filed a suit in the Manhattan State Supreme Court last month against Sullivan & Cromwell counsel Frederick Terry.

 
 

Terry is accused of running a “campaign of vilification” against the board and management of the Foundation in an attempt to force them to leave.

One specific complaint said Terry wrote a letter to the Foundation’s bean counters, falsely stating that one of its financial reports was “incomplete and misleading”.

The suit alleges libel and is seeking around $US500,000 for damages, plus punitive damages.
Terry is linked to the Foundation as the executor of the Paul Mellon Estate. Mellon was a philanthropist and horse owner, with the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation able to access 5 per cent of the Estate’s funds each year.

The Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation was founded in 1982 and is the world’s largest equine sanctuary. It currently cares for over 1000 retired horses, and has adopted out around 800 horses to “loving homes”.

If only the Foundation was around when Phar Lap was racing …

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