TRF Files Suit for Slander and Libel

NEW YORK, Jan 5 (Reuters) - The Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation filed suit in Manhattan state Supreme Court on Thursday against Frederick A. Terry Jr., of counsel at Sullivan & Cromwell, in his capacity as executor of the Paul Mellon Estate. According to the lawsuit, the estate gave a $7 million endowment to the foundation beginning in 2001. The foundation claims that Terry "engaged in a campaign of vilification" by making defamatory statements about its finances as part of a power struggle within the organization.

The lawsuit alleges libel and slander against Terry and seeks more than $400,000 in actual damages, plus punitive damages.

The Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation provides homes for retired racehorses that, according to the complaint, would otherwise be slaughtered for their meat and sold in foreign markets. The lawsuit states that more than 10,000 American racehorses each year are shipped to slaughterhouses in Canada and Mexico.

The 30-year-old foundation, which finds pasture land for injured horses and second careers for older horses, helps transition the animals to their new habitats through a vocational program with inmates at eight correctional facilities across the country.

Terry is one of the executors of the Paul Mellon Estate, established after the 1999 death of American philanthropist and racehorse owner Paul Mellon, according to the complaint. The 2001 endowment permitted the foundation to spend up to 5 percent of the fund each year.

Terry was not available for comment on Thursday. Michael Ledley, with Wollmuth Maher & Deutsch in New York, represents the foundation. He declined to comment on the lawsuit.

'CAMPAIGN OF VILIFICATION'

The action alleges that Terry, in an attempt to "wrest control" of the foundation from its board and management, "engaged in a campaign of vilification." Specifically, it claims that Terry wrote a letter to the foundation's accounting firm falsely stating that one of its financial reports was "incomplete and misleading" and made similar oral statements to the New York State Attorney General's office.

The lawsuit further claims that Terry and his co-executor handpicked a veterinarian who inaccurately reported poor conditions regarding the health and welfare of the foundation's horses. The veterinarian's report, the lawsuit claims, led to articles about animals neglected under the foundation's care.

The New York Times in March published a story that said the foundation's slow or delinquent payment for the upkeep of more than 1,000 horses resulted in "scores" experiencing starvation and neglect, some fatally.

The foundation seeks a jury trial.

The case is Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation v. Terry, No. 150012/2012, Supreme Court of the State of New York County of New York.

For the plaintiff: Michael Ledley, Wollmuth Maher & Deutsch, New York.

For the defendant: Not immediately available.

To view entire complaint click here.

(Reporting by Leigh Jones. Additional reporting by Karen Freifeld)