Hagyard, veterinarians accused of falsifying Keeneland horse X-rays want lawsuit thrown out
A group of Lexington equine veterinarians and their practice have filed motions to dismiss a lawsuit that alleges they misled potential Keeneland horse buyers by altering dates on X-rays.
Three motions to dismiss were filed Monday for the four veterinarians and the Hagyard Davidson McGee practice. Horse buyer Tom Swearingen sued the group alleging that x-rays used to determine a horse’s physical condition and value were older than the dates recorded on them and that the original digital x-rays were intentionally deleted.
In a motion for dismissal filed by veterinarian Robert J. Hunt, Hunt admitted to altering the dates on X-rays but argued that the date changes were insignificant because the X-rays accurately showed the conditions of the horses. The date changes — of “usually no more than one or two days” — were made because of time constraints, not to “deceive any prospective purchaser.”
The motion for dismissal also said the X-rays were not altered in any way other than the dates.
In a memorandum in support of the motion for dismissal, attorneys for Hagyard echoed Hunt’s arguments that Swearingen had not proved he purchased a horse x-rayed by the practice or that he was in any way misled by a misdated X-ray.
The memorandum alleges that the lawsuit filed by Swearingen “seeks to get attention through hyperbole and mock outrage, but when this artifice is ignored, it is clear that he has not suffered any injury which he can demonstrate was caused by HDM.”
Swearingen is an Illinois horse trainer who paid more than $400,000 for 24 horses bought between January 2007 and 2016, according to his lawsuit. The suit seeks money for all the allegedly defrauded victims.
Had he known about the altered X-rays, Swearingen “would not have participated in the Keeneland sale in the first place and never would have bought any of the aforementioned horses,” his lawsuit said.
In addition to Hagyard and Hunt, the lawsuit named accounting firm Dean Dorton Allen Ford and veterinarians Michael T. Hore, Dwayne Rodgerson and Michael Spirito. Also named as defendants were “John Does 1-100,” representative of unidentified sellers and cosigners of horses sold at Keeneland.
Keeneland was not named in the suit. Swearingen’s attorney, Mason Miller, previously said he didn’t have evidence that Keeneland knew about the altered X-rays.
Hunt disputed Swearingen’s lawsuit claim that “original digital X-rays were then intentionally destroyed and deleted from the mobile radiograph machines by those same veterinarians.” The X-rays were merely transferred from the mobile machine used in the field to a computer server, Hunt argued.
“Once transferred the images are stored in the exact condition as they were taken,” Hunt’s motion to dismiss said.
A group of veterinarians from Hagyard, including those named in Swearingen’s lawsuit, previously admitted to the Kentucky Board of Veterinary Examiners that they had modified X-ray dates. The veterinarians signed financial settlements with the board in January, according to PaulickReport.com.
This story was originally published February 26, 2019 at 3:57 PM.
