Texas Cattle Co. Wins Suit Against Breed Association
A Texas jury has awarded a $30 million verdict to a cattle company after a three-year legal battle.
Twinwood Cattle Co., Inc., Simonton, TX, claimed the American Akaushi Association breached its contract by withholding information on the pedigrees of its rare breed of Japanese cattle also known as Red Wagyu. In a unanimous verdict, Twinwood prevailed in the four-week trail over the American Akaushi Association (AAA), HeartBrand Holdings, Inc., and the chairman of the board of both entities, Ronald Beeman.
A statement from Twinwood’s legal counsel McKool Smith, the jury agreed with plaintiff’s claims of breach of contract, fraud, tortious interference, conspiracy, and alter ego. AAA was also found to have fraudulently concealed its breaches and tortious conduct for several years. The verdict provides for more than $21 million in damages for breach of contract, an additional $1.3 million for fraud, $3.3 million in exemplary damages, and Twinwood's attorneys' fees. The jury also found HeartBrand was the alter ego of AAA and responsible for AAA's conduct.
"As we've maintained throughout trial, our client was clearly impacted by unfulfilled obligations related to the defendants providing DNA verified pedigree information for the registered cattle," said McKool Smith principal Willie Wood, lead counsel for Twinwood. "The jury worked very hard to understand the facts and weigh the evidence in this case, and we are very pleased with their decision."
Twinwood alleged that AAA advertises to members that they will receive a DNA verified pedigree on registered animals and certificates of registration verifying their animals' lineages, which are critical to the value of Wagyu and other elite breeds of cattle. Twinwood was a member of the AAA from 2009 to 2017 and registered hundreds of animals with the association.
According to the statement from McKool Smith, however, when Twinwood asked the AAA to provide proof of DNA verified pedigrees on its animals in 2016, AAA refused, claiming it did not provide such information "as a matter of policy." After repeated denials to requests for the same information, Twinwood left the AAA and filed suit in 2018. Twinwood alleges that only after it left the AAA did it learn that AAA had failed to DNA verify the lineages of more than half of Twinwood's initial registered animals.