Crime & Safety

Woman Who Alleged Horse Abuse in 'Luck' Filming Given Another Day in Court

A judge decided that Barbara Casey can include HBO as a defendant in her wrongful termination lawsuit. The show was filmed at Santa Anita Park.

By City News Service

A judge has reversed her tentative ruling and given lawyers for a former American Humane Association official who claims she was wrongly fired for exposing horse abuse on the set of the defunct television series "Luck" another chance to prove HBO and the producers of the show should remain in the case.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Maureen Duffy-Lewis issued her final decision Wednesday afternoon.

Barbara Casey, the former director of production in the AHA's film and television unit, alleges HBO and "Luck" producer Stewart Productions aided in an alleged horse abuse cover-up months before the series starring Dustin Hoffman and Nick Nolte was canceled. "Luck" was filmed at Santa Anita Park.

During arguments Wednesday, attorney Jolene Konnersman, on behalf of the production defendants, said there is no such cause of action under state law and that Casey's grievances are solely with the AHA, a co-defendant in the case.

"It's not as if the plaintiff has no remedy here," Konnersman said.

But Casey's attorney, David deRubertis, said his client still can maintain her aiding and abetting claim even though HBO and Stewart Productions were not her employers.

Duffy-Lewis initially agreed with Konnersman and said she was dismissing the aiding and abetting allegation. However, after hearing arguments from deRubertis, she agreed to take the case under submission. She ruled later in the day that he could file an amended complaint "to provide further facts and supporting case law citations," according to a courtroom minute order.

AHA attorney Rachel Romanello was present for Wednesday's hearing, but her client did not have a motion before the court. The AHA has denied any wrongdoing in Casey's case.

In her suit filed Dec. 31, Case alleges horses used on the series -- which ran for one season and centered around characters at a thoroughbred racetrack -- were often drugged, and that many sick, underweight animals were routinely used.

"The production defendants intentionally misidentified horses so that the humane officers and/or animal safety representatives could not track their medical histories," the suit alleges.

A horse named Outlaw Yodeler was killed April 30, 2010; another, Marc's Shaddow, died March 29, 2011; and a third, Hometrader, was killed in the summer of 2011, the suit states.

"AHA told its representatives not to document (Hometrader's) death because he was killed during a summer hiatus from filming and therefore did not count,'' the suit states.

A fourth horse died in March just before the series was canceled, according to the suit.

Casey says she worked for the AHA for 13 years and was fired in January
2012.

AHA's film and television unit is funded through entertainment industry
grants and the organization's traditional end-of-film credit is, "No Animals Were Harmed,'' the suit states.


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