- Any
phone call from BJ Elliot would have been
the day our puppy was returned to us by his
wife which was Wed April 13 2005. Dr
Esmond did not refer BJ Elliott to Judy as I
was with him at the clinic and I stayed a
bit after he left. Judy states that
she did not know BJ Elliott when in fact she
had spoken to him before as you can hear in
the tape when he says he called Judy Word
after having called Puppy Referral and not
getting a return phone call from them for 3
weeks, he found Judy’s name and number on
the website. BJ Elliott got
Plaintiff’s litter information from Judy
Word in February 2005 when he first
contacted Plaintiffs. Anything Judy is
saying with regards to Dr Esmond’s referring
her name out is hearsay. Judy is
stating the wrong date of April 20 2005.
Judy had given BJ Elliott Holly’s
information the day BJ Elliott returned his
puppy to Plaintiffs.
- Again,
referring to the wrong date since she states
‘later that day’ of April 20 2005…
Alan left Debra a message on April 14
2005. Debra Allen testified at the
hearing (Plaintiff’s Exhibit 2, pg 4) “Ok
Wed evening I spoke with a Club member about
her litter, she told me about a man who had
just returned a puppy to the Meyer’s with
serious health issues. After I
finished my call with her, I checked my
messages and found a message from Alan
wanting to re-list the puppy.” This
would be Wednesday, April 13 2005. The
Club member Debra Allen was talking about at
that time was Holly King. Judy Word
referred BJ Elliott to Holly King when he
called her for another referral. BJ
Elliott subsequently purchased his second
puppy from Holly King. Holly King’s
litter was out of a dam who’s sire was Judy
Word’s stud dog. Debra Allen testified at
the hearing, referring to Wednesday, April
13 2005: “Since the Club had just
recently been addressing liability issues
and putting um, disclaimers on our website I
called Judy, told her what I knew and that
Alan was now wanting to re-list the puppy
and she said to hold off listing it until we
could check things out and poll the Board.
“ Plaintiff’s Exhibit 2, page
4, At her suggestion the next morning
I sent Alan an email asking why the puppy
returned, was it just an unrealistic owner
or what… if it was an unrealistic owner we
wanted to warn other Club members who had
puppies.” However, Plaintiff did
not leave a voice mail message for Debra
Allen until Thursday, April 14 2005.
Plaintiff received that email from Debra
Allen on Friday, April 15 2005, Plaintiff’s
Exhibit 11.
- Again,
Judy quoting the wrong date of April 21
2005. BJ Elliott had been out to Holly
King’s house and back by April 21 2005 after
being referred to Holly’s litter,
Plaintiff’s Exhibit 4, pg 3 (of which
Plaintiff was not informed was on puppy
referral, however the litter was out of a
dam who’s sire is Judy Word’s stud dog)
after returning our puppy April 13
2005. Judy Word states numerous times
that she did not ask BJ Elliott to write
anything for her. Plaintiff’s Exhibit
7, pg 4 & 8 contradicts that
statement. Judy states here that she
asked him to send her an email.
Plaintiff’s Exhibit 7 pg 2, 4, 8 contradicts
that statement. States since she was
president of the Club, she felt it was her
responsibility to protect the Club.
During that same timeframe, Judy had first
hand knowledge of Dick Caldwell’s litter
with undescended testicles that was listed
but did not require disclosure to be given
out by puppy referral. Judy Word sold
a puppy of her own breeding after another
Board member volunteering for puppy referral
gave out Judy’s unlisted litter and the
puppy sold as a result of that referral had
an undescended testicle(s). What did
happen on April 21 2005 is Judy Word
contacted BJ Elliott to put into writing
what he felt was wrong with Plaintiff’s
puppy. Plaintiff’s Exhibit 4 pg
12 & 13. “ Judy: When the
first discussion of the Board was? It
was when… Alan: Yes…
Judy: …we received uh… it would have
been Thursday, April 21st when I
spoke to BJ Elliott and received a email
from him, documentation. Saying what
was wrong with the puppy.” The
fact is that Judy Word at that point in time
had not yet spoken with any Board members
other than Debra Allen.
- It
would have been impossible for the Board to
unanimously decide that Plaintiff’s puppy
could not be listed without conditions as
first, Judy told us she couldn’t reach most
of the Board, Plaintiff’s Exhibit 7, pg 1,
and second, we have Rita Robins on tape
stating that the first she even heard about
our puppy and its being returned was when
she returned home that weekend, Sunday April
24 2005, Plaintiff’s Exhibit 10, pg 1,
15. Therefore it was impossible for
the Board to have discussed Plaintiff’s
puppy before April 22 2005 let alone
unanimously make any decisions. The
email received from Judy Word just after
12am which would then be Saturday April 23
2005, only stated that the Board was
‘hesitant’ and suggested that Plaintiffs
have a copy of their vet report available,
Plaintiff’s Exhibit 19.
- Plaintiff
did not call Judy Word until approximately
8pm Friday April 22 2005, which was after he
received the information from Linda Marquart
that Plaintiff’s puppy was not listed.
Plaintiff did not ask why he couldn’t get in
touch with Debra Allen, he stated that he
not and that she wasn’t returning his
calls. There was no mention of any
witch hunt until Plaintiff mentioned that to
BJ Elliott on Saturday morning, April 23
2005, Plaintiff’s Exhibit 4 pg 7. Judy
stated that the Board had received a
complaint and/or letter from BJ Elliott and
that a letter had been sent to Plaintiff’s
from the Board, Exhibit 7, pg 1. 2.
Ellen said they received no letter and could
Judy email it to Plaintiffs. However,
there was no way the Board could have either
written a letter or be in the process of
compiling a letter per Rita Robins
conversation with Plaintiff, Exhibit 10, pg
15, three days later that Judy’s email of
the evening of April 22 2005 Plaintiff’s
Exhibit 19 was the first that she’d heard
about Plaintiff’s puppy. Judy Word
stated on the morning of April 23 2005,
Exhibit 7, pg 1,during phone call with
Plaintiff Saturday morning:
Judy:
I have not heard back from all the Board
members.
Ellen:
Okay… So are we not on right now?
Judy:
No, you are not on right now.
Ellen:
Okay… and… when… do you think you’re gonna
have an answer here.
Judy:
Ellen, I really don’t know. I’m try,
I’ve called all of them, I’ve told them to
pick up their emails… they’re, a lot of them
are out training… I, I really don’t have an
idea.
- There
were no phone calls past the 8pm phone call
from Plaintiff to Judy Word on April 22
2005. The email sent at 12:09 am on
Saturday April 23 2005 did not state
anything with regards to a final decision by
the Board. Judy stated that the Board
was a ‘little hesitant’ to list the puppy
due to potential liability. It was
‘recommended’ that puppy referral be allowed
to provide full disclosure, and it ‘might be
a good idea’ to have the vet report for the
volunteers, Plaintiff’s Exhibit 19.
Again, any discussions or voting by the
Board via email is a violation of the Club’s
Bylaws. The Club was in breach of
contact and still refusing to honor the
litter listing and there was no liability to
the Club as the disclaimer was on the Club
website after the Club meeting on April 19
2005, Plaintiff’s Exhibit 2, pg 21.
- There
was no call to BJ Elliott that night, April
22, 2005. Plaintiffs did not speak to
BJ Elliott until the following morning,
Saturday, April 23 2005 at approximately
9am. Exhibit 4 pg 1.
- Use
Alan’s information for emails for that
weekend. Ellen asked if Plaintiff’s
puppy was on due to the fact that Plaintiff
told Linda Marquart that their listing
should be on Puppy Referral and to check
with Debra Allen. Please see paragraph
7 above for exact quote from tape.
Bylaw violations, email not expressly
allowed in Club Bylaws.
- Plaintiffs
never asked BJ Elliott to write a letter
stating Judy had tricked him into
anything. Plaintiff’s Exhibit 6 pg 6.
BJ Elliott offered to possibly write
something that he did not submit a complaint
as Plaintiff is trying to remove himself
from the internal conflict within the Club.
-
Plaintiffs did not call BJ Elliott past
Saturday April 23 2005. Terry Combs
did call and speak with BJ Elliott.
Please see notarized statement from Terry
Combs, Plaintiff’s Exhibit 39.
-
There were no further emails that weekend
between the Board and Plaintiff between the
email received early Saturday morning from
Defendants, then Plaintiffs responded back
at 1:07am, until the time Plaintiff’s
received the next email from the Board at
8:13pm Monday, April 25 2005.
Plaintiffs responded on , at, and the final
email correspondence on this issue was an
email response from the Board to Plaintiffs
on Wednesday April 27 2005 at 12:57pm.
Plaintiff’s Exhibit 19.
- *15*
not 14…. Judy Word would not be
eligible to participate on Puppy Referral as
a volunteer while she had an active listing
of her 18 month old puppy, DFWMGRC Standing
Rules For Puppy Referral, Section 2. Debra
Allen is exhibiting negligence of her duties
as puppy referral chair as Judy is quoting
Debra Allen’s email of May 18, 2005 to Judy
Word within this paragraph, that she
‘guesses’ Judy would have to call back the
puppy referral volunteers to figure out who
started listing it., Debra Allen
was the Puppy Referral Chair at that time,
it would have been her job to make sure
puppy referral was running smoothly and
check every week to make sure that the
listings are correct. Debra Allen
would have first hand knowledge that Judy
Word had an older puppy listed with puppy
referral and that Judy Word would not be
eligible to receive puppy referral inquiries
that week.
17.
Admissions of Board discussion with regards to
charges against Plaintiffs before charges were
preferred against Plaintiffs. Defendants
knew at this time that on April 23 2005
Plaintiffs were told their listing was not
listed and was not going to be listed without
a disclosure statement by Puppy
Referral. How could Board prefer charges
when Board was negligent in placing a call to
the puppy referral volunteer, Linda Marquart,
who Plaintiffs spoke to before they had
knowledge that their listing was not on
referral, Plaintiff’s told Board they had
spoken with Linda Marquart before speaking
with any Board members and Board knew that was
the last contact Plaintiffs had with anyone on
puppy referral. Board cannot call a
board meeting via email, violation of the
Bylaws. Subject matter was also not in
Board’s jurisdiction as Plaintiff’s had a
valid contract for their 8 week puppy referral
listing that met all the requirements as
stated in the Constitution and Bylaws.
18.
Board could not have held an impromptu
meeting, did not follow proper procedure for
Special Board meeting and cannot do email
meetings or voting. Sherri Farmer
specifically violated DFWMGRC Bylaws, Article
VII, Section 2, “The Recording Secretary shall
promptly send a copy of the charges to each
member of the Board, and the Board shall
schedule a meeting (or may instead consider
them at its next regularly scheduled Board
meeting) to first vote upon whether the
actions alleged in the charges, if proven,
might constitute conduct prejudicial to the
best interests of the Club or the
Breed.” There are no provisions in the
Bylaws for ‘impromptu’ meetings, there is a
specific procedure in place for such, DFWMGRC
Bylaws, Article III, Section 4. The
Board, per the DFWMGRC Constitution and Bylaws
cannot conduct Club or Board business via
email nor vote. Any violations of the
Bylaws and procedures set forth in those
Bylaws that are not followed, are null and
void.
19.
Judy Word was a witness at the hearing, yet
stayed in the hearing the entire time.
She also participated in direct and cross
examination of the Plaintiff and participated
in all Board discussion. Plaintiff’s
knew that Judy Word would be there and also
requested that she be a witness for
Plaintiffs. Plaintiff Judy Word
presented Debra Allen’s case. Letter to
Plaintiffs stated specifically that neither
party will be allowed legal counsel.
20.
During the same time period as Plaintiff’s
contract with puppy referral, The Board of
Directors were referring other Club member’s
litters with potential serious health issues,
undescended testicles, with one litter listed
with Puppy Referral and the other not
listed. Board had first hand knowledge
of those known health issues. Yet they
ignored those issues. Board was
obviously not concerned about protecting the
Club when said litters were related to their
own dogs. Board did know that
Plaintiffs divulged their puppy’s condition as
Judy Word had a conversation with someone who
inquired about Plaintiff’s litter through
Plaintiff’s
www.breeders.net
advertisement, Plaintiff’s Exhibit 7, page 6:
Ellen:
I haven’t talked to anybody except for maybe
that one person whoever this person is.
Judy:
And did you talk, tell her that?
Ellen:
Huh?
Judy:
You told her it was the small umbilical hernia
that was very common.
Ellen:
I said umbilical hern, that’s correct, they
are common and they are repaired all the time.
Plaintiff’s
puppy/litter was not unhealthy. Puppy
had an umbilical hernia with the
recommendation by vet to have umbilical repair
at time of neuter. Umbilical hernia
would not have affected puppy’s quality of
life or lifespan. Plaintiff, once
advised of the hernia, disclosed to any
inquirers that the hernia existed, that it
should be repaired at time of neuter and that
Plaintiff would pay the $65 quoted by their
vet for the cost of the repair. On the
other hand, Defendant’s were referring to
litters with puppies with potentially a much
more serious surgery for undescended testicles
which could be located in the puppy’s abdomen,
requiring serious exploratory abdominal
surgery. There was no requirement for
the litter that was listed with Puppy Referral
to disclose such, and the other litter, bred
by Judy Word was not listed with the Club’s
Puppy Referral, yet was referred out by a
Board member who was at that time fulfilling
her duty as puppy referral volunteer that week
giving out Judy Word’s information to an
inquirer which actually led to the purchase of
Judy Word’s puppy with the undescended
testicle(s). Standing Rules
for Puppy Referral, Section XI states
“Committee members answering the phones must
refer litter listings as they were given to
committee, putting aside all personal
feelings” It was the personal feelings
of the Board and not a fact, that Plaintiffs
were not going to disclose the umbilical
hernia. Litter listings are given to the
‘committee’ by the Breeders and that is the
only way they are allowed to be referred out
to by the puppy referral volunteers.
21.
Plaintiff’s did discuss via email and answered
Defendants April 25 2005, Plaintiff’s Exhibit
19. Defendants were unyielding.
Plaintiff’s already showed that they disclosed
the umbilical hernia condition as Board
President Judy Word (see paragraph 19 above)
spoke to the same person, and Judy Word also
had no right (tortuous interference) to
discuss Plaintiff’s puppy with a prospective
client of Plaintiff’s and since Plaintiff’s
puppy was not on the Club’s Puppy Referral at
that time. Plaintiff’s never said it was
‘none of our business’ to any Board
member. The Board has no right to take a
consensus on any member’s intentions and
Plaintiffs already disclosed umbilical hernia
to the person Judy Word tortuously interfered
with. Plaintiff’s did state in their response
to the Board on April 25 2005 that any and
everything the Board was saying/doing was
against the Club’s Bylaws. Obviously
Club’s reputation was not on the line when
Board members gave out both listed and
unlisted litter information containing puppies
with undescended testicles which potentially
require serious abdominal surgery. Judy
Word in this paragraph is on her soapbox, yet
she personally committed a worse offense then
what was alleged against Plaintiffs by selling
a puppy from a litter not listed with puppy
referral as a result of a puppy referral
volunteer referral and that particular puppy
that was sold had at least one undescended
testicle. Plaintiff’s followed the
Club’s Bylaws and Code Of Ethics. Judy
Word did not. Judy Word mentioning in
this paragraph the GRCA’s Code Of Ethics is a
farce as the DFWMGRC does not require the same
‘clearances’ as the GRCA. If the health
of the puppies is the Club’s foremost concern,
why does the DFWMGRC not require the elbow
clearance as does the GRCA. Could that
be because Judy Word’s stud dog at that time
didn’t have an elbow clearance? If we
are THE Golden Retriever Club in this area,
then we should adhere to our Club Objectives
as outlined in the Constitution and Bylaws,
Article I, Section 2b.and we would require
that any litters to be listed on DFWMGRC Puppy
Referral at the very least, meet the
requirements of clearances that the GRCA
requires for advertising litters in the GRCA
publications. Judy Word has served on
the Club’s Bylaw Committee and neglected to
recommend that the DFWMGRC meet those minimum
requirements. DFWMGRC Constitution and
Bylaws, Article 1, Section 2, Club Objectives,
letter B states “and additionally to follow
the GRCA’s Code of Ethics regarding
responsible breeding. The GRCA Code Of
Ethics, Plaintiff’s Exhibit 44, bottom of
page, “GRCA members are expected to follow AKC
requirements for record keeping,
identification of animals, and registration
procedures. Animals selected for
breeding should: section (iii) possess
the following examination reports in order to
verify status concerning possible hip
dysplasia, hereditary eye or cardiovascular
disease, and elbow dysplasia” Yet, the
DFWMGRC does not require the elbow dysplasia
report. By not requiring that report, as
stated in the GRCA Code Of Ethics, which in
Article I, Section 2B of the DFWMGRC Bylaws
states that the DFWMGRC Club Objective is to
following the GRCA’s Code of Ethics regarding
responsible breeding. Plaintiff’s had
all four of the examination reports available
for both the sire and dam of their listed
litter which went above and beyond the
requirements for the DFWMGRC puppy referral
service and did adhere to the GRCA Code Of
Ethics, unlike the DFWMGRC. The unlisted
litter that was referred out by a puppy
referral volunteer did not have all the GRCA
recommended clearances. The unlisted
litter was sired by Judy Word’s stud dog who
at that time did not have all four GRCA
recommended clearances, Plaintiff’s Exhibit
45. Yet, sire and dam of Plaintiff’s
litter did. Plaintiffs did nothing
‘behind-the-back’, Plaintiffs called Judy Word
and stated they had talked to Linda
Marquart. Plaintiffs were told numerous
times over the next two days by Judy Word that
Plaintiff’s their puppy was not on the
Club’s puppy referral. Board members and
Judy Word undermined the clear objective of
the DFWMGRC Puppy Referral Service and the
Club, in her position of, and during her
tenure of Club President by allowing litters
both listed and not listed with known health
issues (undescended testicles) to be referred
out by the Club’s Puppy Referral Service
without disclosure by the Club’s Puppy
Referral as long as those litters/puppies were
related to Board member’s
pedigrees. There cannot be a double
standard within a Club, one for Board members,
and another one for other Club members, all
members must be treated equally and be
required to follow the DFWMGRC Constitution,
Bylaws and Standing Rules.
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