A jury has awarded $400,000 to two Oregon dog breeders who sued the International Canine Semen Bank alleging that it mistakenly destroyed frozen dog sperm from the 1990s that could have produced hundreds of coveted, cream-of-the-crop Labrador retriever puppies.

Dick Weiner and Brad Barcroft claimed the Sandy-area sperm bank negligently allowed the sperm of six prized, long-dead Labradors to thaw and become useless after a freezer mishap in 1997. Weiner and Barcroft alleged the sperm bank then hid its mistake for nearly two decades until a former employee of the company shared the news with them in 2016.

Weiner, 81, has been breeding Labradors for nearly 50 years through his Salem-based company, Sunnyview Labradors. He described the loss of the bloodlines as emotionally devastating.

“But it is what it is,” Weiner said, over his losses. “And there’s not much I can do about it.”

King was the son of San Joaquin Honcho, the 1976 National Field Champion. King was a Dual Grand Master, says Dick Weiner. Weiner froze King's semen back in the 1990s. (Courtesy of Dick Weiner)

He and Barcroft filed a lawsuit in 2017 in Clackamas County Circuit Court seeking $800,000 -- an amount that includes in part their estimate of how many pups they could have sold at $2,000 to $3,000 a piece. Weiner also used to sell vials of the champion dogs’ semen for $3,000 a piece to buyers interested in impregnating their own female dogs.

In particular, Weiner mourned the loss of progeny from an award-winning dog named King, who was the son of the legendary San Joaquin Honcho, the 1976 U.S. National Field Champion. Weiner said no one froze semen from San Joaquin Honcho when such technology was still developing and that he believes he’s the only one who had the insight to collect and freeze semen from one of San Joaquin Honcho’s sons.

“His pedigree was impeccable. He was just one of the greatest Labradors who ever walked,” Weiner said of San Joaquin Honcho. Weiner said King also was stunning: “He was a gorgeous dog. 105 pounds. Just an outstanding animal.”

After a four-day trial his month, a Clackamas County Circuit Court jury found that the sperm bank had lost or damaged Weiner and Barcroft’s frozen reserves of dog semen. Weiner said he still has a small amount of King’s semen left, but he’ll no longer sell it because he has so little of it.

Defense attorneys for the semen bank contended in court papers that Weiner and Barcroft’s frozen reserves could have been damaged or lost while in possession of another dog semen preservation company that has kept the reserves stored in recent years. The defense lawyers also said the allegation that the storage tank had been left open, allowing the semen to thaw, came from a fired employee who didn’t witness an open tank. He had heard from his wife who heard from someone else that the tank was supposedly left open, the defense lawyers said.

The trial exposed jurors to the high-stakes, sometimes precarious world of breeding elite hunting dogs.

The International Canine Semen Bank was founded in 1971 by Carrol Platz, who helped develop the process of preserving canine semen for use decades later while working as a researcher at the University of Oregon, according to the business’ website. The company boasts that it has since expanded to more than 50 centers worldwide, including in Australia, Japan and throughout North America.

For $324 in start-up costs, the company will collect and store a dog’s semen for a year, then continue to store it for an annual fee of $79 after that.

The sperm bank was sued under its official name registered with the state, International Animal Semen Bank. Platz headed the company until 2014 and has since retired. Platz is listed as a defendant along with the company.

Weiner and Barcroft’s lawsuit states that Weiner had been a customer since 1995. Barcroft said he became a customer years later, after he bought some of Weiner’s reserves. Weiner has mentored Barcroft, who entered the breeding business in 2011 by founding his Sublimity company, Driftcreek Labradors.

Weiner and Barcroft said some customers use their dogs for competitions or recreational duck and geese hunting. Other buyers are regular folks who want a healthy, faithful family pet.

“These are high-quality field dogs,” Barcroft said. “The genetics of these dogs are really good. They don’t have hip problems. They don’t have bad eyes. They don’t have coat problems. They are super smart, which makes them easy to train. Who wouldn’t want that?”

A litter of Sunnyview Labradors' 5-week old puppies can be seen here prancing about. (Courtesy of Sunnyview Labradors)

Animal law lawyer Geordie Duckler, who represented both men, said the dogs have the papers to back up those claims.

“You’re not just buying the dog because it’s a cool-looking dog,” Duckler said. “You’re buying it because it’s the son of a famous dog, that was a son of a famous dog. You’re buying them because of the pedigree.”

Jurors awarded Weiner $300,000 in economic damages and Barcroft $100,000 in economic damages.

Attorney Nicholas Herman, who represented the semen bank along with Philip Griffin, said his client will be requesting a new trial based on the argument that the bank didn’t receive a fair trial.

“We fully expect to prevail in a fair trial, and if our request for a new trial is denied, then we will appeal, and we fully expect to prevail on appeal,” Herman said in an email.

-- Aimee Green

agreen@oregonian.com

o_aimee

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