Australia, April 14 -- New South Wales Land and Environment Court issued text of the following judgement on March 14:

1. Mr and Mrs Smith (the defendants) operate a business in partnership together taking care of and training horses.

2. On 26 May 2018 Mr Smith was transporting 17 horses to a cutting horse competition at Tamworth by road with his father and his nephew when the vehicle he was driving was involved in a serious accident near Dubbo. Mr Smith's father was killed. His nephew was seriously injured.

3. One horse was killed, and another 8 were euthanised at the scene. The remaining 8 horses were taken to a local equine vet (Dr Ross Pedrana).

4. One of the surviving horses was Moore Metal, owned by the first plaintiff, a company controlled by Mr Jones.

5. The second plaintiff is another company controlled by Mr Jones. It had previously owned Moore Metal but had transferred ownership to the first plaintiff well before the accident. Unless there is a need to distinguish between the 2 companies, I will refer to the first plaintiff simply as the plaintiff. The parties accept that if there is to be a judgment against the defendants, it should be in favour of the first plaintiff.

6. The plaintiff claims damages from Mr and Mrs Smith as a result of the injuries sustained by Moore Metal in the accident.

7. Liability was conceded at the hearing. Mr and Mrs Smith have admitted liability for breach of contract, for breach of a duty of care in negligence and as bailees for reward.

8. In the end, the hearing was about what sum of money (if any) Mr and Mrs Smith ought to be ordered to pay.

A.UNCONTROVERSIAL FACTS

Before the accident Moore Metal had been a competitive cutting horse and breeding stallion

9. In the sport of cutting, (as described by Mr Smith) the aim is to separate a single beast out of a herd of cattle with your horse. Once you have separated a single beast from the herd, you put your hand down on the horse's withers (the top of the shoulder, at the base of the neck) and let the reins go slack. The horse then has to stop that cow from getting back to the herd. From that point the horse cannot feel any sort of cueing from your hand. Part of the judging includes how much slack you have in your reins. You cannot pick your hand up. You have 2.5 minutes to cut a minimum of 2 cows, maximum of 3. Once you have cut the cow out of the herd and put your hand down you have to hold that cow for a certain duration. The duration ranges from 5 to 30 or 40 seconds. According to the rules, you cannot get "off" that cow until the cow has shown submission, which means the cow either needs to be standing still, or facing away from you and the herd, showing that it has given up trying to return to the herd. On average, your horse would be "on" a cow for 15 to 30 seconds. Normally there is about a minute of actual working time. The other part of the 2.5 minutes is actually cutting a cow from the herd. When you are cutting a cow you are steering the horse. The rider of the horse chooses the cow.

*Rest of the document and Footnotes can be viewed at: (https://www.caselaw.nsw.gov.au/decision/19591b92dbaac89820d58d2d)

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