Can a horse sue a human for neglect? Justice (the horse) is determined to find out in a lawsuit filed in Oregon circuit court

By the time of his rescue, Justice was a terrible mess — an American Quarter Horse by breed and a brutally neglected animal by all appearances. Justice (known then as Shadow) was 300 pounds underweight. He had severely frostbitten genitals. He was kept outside, never got groomed, was riddled with skin infections and lice, suffered from equine anxiety and, luckily for him, removed from the care (or lack thereof) of his owner in Washington County, Ore., in March 2017.

On July 10, Gwendolyn Vercher pleaded guilty to a charge of neglect. She agreed to pay $3,700 in restitution to Sound Equine Oregon, the rescue shelter housing Justice, for the horse’s care prior to July 6 — but not beyond that date.

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Justice is doing better now, and living at the shelter, but requires ongoing care. So he is fighting back in Oregon circuit court, suing his former abuser for a minimum $100,000 in damages. That is not a typo, but a truth: a four-legged beast is suing a two-legged woman — with the help of the Animal Legal Defence Fund (ALDF) — and some human lawyers.

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Photo by Courtesy Animal Legal Defence Fund

How can this be? The Oregon Legislature recognizes “animals are sentient beings capable of experiencing pain, stress and fear,” the ALDF states (on Justice’s behalf) in the horse’s suit against Vercher.

“As a result of (the) defendant’s negligence, Justice has incurred past and future expenses for reasonable and necessary medical bills and long-term care in an amount to be determined at trial but not less than a $100,000,” the suit states. The horse is also seeking compensation at trial for his “pain and suffering.”

Poor Justice, with his ruined penis — there was a partial amputation — is now eight years old, not a suitable candidate for adoption, and could live for another 15 years with his guardian, Kim Mosiman. And care costs money. The Oregon courts have categorized animals as “victims” in criminal neglect cases. As victims — the Justice/ALDF suit argues — they retain the right to “sue their abusers for the harms they have inflicted.”

Justice’s case against Vercher is far from a slam dunk. People everywhere love their animals, but judges don’t necessarily love the idea of animals possessing the same legal rights as humans. Five years ago, the Nonhuman Rights Project filed a lawsuit against the owners of some chimpanzees in New York, arguing they be freed from their cages and relocated to an outdoor sanctuary in Florida. The courts ruled the two chimps didn’t have the same legal rights as people. In other words: a chimp could be confined to a cage, without a violation of its rights, whereas a law-abiding person could never be caged — against their will — unless they were criminal.

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Now along comes Justice, galloping into the legal rights arena, looking to test the Oregon courts to see if they reach a different conclusion about the difference, or sameness, of horses and people. If it’s successful, Justice’s lawsuit would be the first to establish that animals have a legal right to sue their abusers.