Opinion ID: 1361168
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Liability for Entering Just American Magic

Text: Section 1824(2)(B) of the Act prohibits the entering for purpose of showing or exhibiting in any horse show or horse exhibition, any horse which is sore. 15 U.S.C. § 1824(2)(B). Entering a horse entails paying the entry fee, registering the horse, and presenting the horse for inspection. Gray, 39 F.3d at 676 (citing approvingly Elliott v. Adm'r, Animal & Plant Health Inspection Serv., 990 F.2d 140, 145 (4th Cir.1993)). Though there is no binding precedent in this circuit regarding what steps must be completed by an individual to subject her to liability for entering a sore horse under the Act, two panels of this court have held that an individual does not have to perform personally all the steps of entry in order to be found liable. Stewart v. United States Dep't of Agric., 64 Fed.Appx. 941, 943 (6th Cir.2003) (unpublished opinion); McConnell, 198 Fed.Appx. at 423 (holding that merely presenting a horse for inspection is entry of the horse under the Act). The Stewart court stressed that requiring an individual to have personally performed every step of the entry process in order to qualify as having entered the horse for [Horse Protection Act] purposes would result in the untenable holding that if two individuals divide the entry responsibilities, both are able to escape liability. Stewart, 64 Fed.Appx. at 943. We are persuaded by the reasoning of Stewart and conclude that liability for entering a horse must rest with any individual who completes any one of the various steps of entrypaying the entry fee, registering the horse, or presenting the horse for inspection. Congress intended the Act to make it impossible for persons to show sored horses in nearly all horse shows. H.R.Rep. No. 91-1597 (1970), reprinted in 1970 U.S.C.C.A.N. 4870, 4872. Because entry is a multi-step process, the intent of Congress can be achieved only by a rule that provides that any individual who performs any step of entry maybe held liable for a violation. A contrary rule would easily allow trainers and owners to circumvent the Act by delegating each step of the entry process to different individuals, preventing effective enforcement. Therefore, we hold that an individual can be held liable for entering a sore horse if she performs any one of the various acts of entry. J. Derickson argues that her only role in the entering process was to sign the check that paid Just American Magic's entry fee and that this act alone is not enough to subject her to liability. She does not contest that paying an entry fee would constitute entering a horse, but rather she claims only that she did not actually pay the fee. This argument is not supported by the evidence. J. Derickson admitted that she signed a check drawn on the account of Herbert Derickson Training Facility. The JO found, supported by substantial evidence as outlined above, that J. Derickson is a partner of a partnership that does business as Herbert Derickson Training Facility. As a partner, she is personally liable for the actions of the partnership. Therefore, she is personally liable for paying the entry fee. Thus, we hold that the JO had substantial evidence to support his finding that J. Derickson is liable for entering Just American Magic in violation of the Act.