Saddlehorse owners from California pursued claims for an accounting and breaches of fiduciary duty against their Kentucky-based agent who boarded, trained and showed their saddlebred horses. The United States District Court at Louisville ruled on a pretrial motion for an accounting and held that the agent was not required to account for expenses accrued when the agent was acting as vendor of services to principals and further had no duty to account for transactions in which he did not act as agent and did not receive a commission, distinguishing between horse sales transactions (i.e., disposition of principal’s property) and boarding and training expenses (merely rendering bills for payment). The Court made clear that an agency is a fiduciary relationship resulting from manifestation of consent by one person, the principal, to another, the agent, that the agent may act on the principal’s behalf and subject to his control; and consent by the agent to so act.
Principal/agent/equine industry/show horses/American Saddlebred Horse Association/accounting
