EX-OFFICIAL OF BREEDERS ASSOCIATION WINS EMPLOYMENT CONTRACT SUIT
H T0M FULTON AS A TRAINER- The subject of a recent lawsuit against the Breeders ' Association. Mr. Fulton is pictured during the days he was active as a professional Walking Horse trainer
As newscaster Paul Harvey often says, " Don ' t worry... nothing is going to turn out right." The Tennessee Walking Horse Breeders ' Association of America lost another round recently as the court in Lewisburg, Tennessee ruled against them in a suit brought by H. Tom Fulton, long-time former Executive Secretary of the Association.
Chancellor John D. Templeton found the Association guilty of breach of contract and ordered payment of
more than S33,000 in back pay to Fulton. Templeton ruled that the
Association pay Fulton the salary under the terms of his employment contract from the date he was fired( it is our understanding that Mr. Fulton was not officially fired, but rather that his job was eliminated) through October 21, 1969, and left the avenue open for future suits by Fulton to collect his salary between
now and the time his contract expires in 1976.
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Clarence Evans of Nashville, attorney for Fulton, stated that his client was given a ten-year employment contract in May, 1964 and was also awarded a S 1,500 raise in May, 1965.
Fulton, who was discharged from his duties December 31, 1966, claimed that he had a ten-year written employment contract with the Association at a minimum salary of $ 12,- 000 per year and that he was fired without cause. The defendant Association, with attorney John J. Hooker, Sr. of Nashville handling their
case, claimed that Fulton did not have a written contract and that such
a contract would have been invalid because it extended beyond the term
of elected directors and officers who would have negotiated the contract.
The Association alsoclaimed it had just cause to fire Fulton because he breached the contract by writing a letter which the defense claims sparked a costly lawsuit in California involving the Association. Templeton ruled that Fulton did have a contract, that it was a valid contract and that his discharge was without
cause at the time it occurred. The attorney for the association said that they would appeal the decision.
The only witness for the defense was S. W. Beech, Jr. of Belfast, Tennessee, who was president of the Association when Fulton wrote the
letter in question. The record states that Fulton sent the letter to a Tennessee horseman who was to judge a show in Sacramento, California. In this personal letter he made statements that were not complimentary to West Coast Walking Horses or their exhibitors. The letter was seen by a prominent California Walking Horse enthusiast who took offense at the allegations and demanded a hearing before the Breeders’ Association Board to discuss the attitude expressed by Fulton. A hearing was
set and the person demanding the hearing was unable to attend on the
scheduled date and was subsequently suspended by the Association. This suspension, which included refusal of the Association to transfer
or register horses owned or bred by him, led to a lawsuit in 1963 which
eventually cost the Association a judgment of $ 10,200 plus expensive
court costs. The Tennessee Walking Horse Breeders’ Association of America has been under considerable scrutiny for years regarding management
practices and the lack of efficiency within the organization. In addition to the abovementioned suit, the current Board of Directors is also involved in several other lawsuits inj volving registration procedures and this year’ s election. The Association has also been under attack by a Nashville, Term, newspaper thathas
sought to expose the practices which have allegedly led to many problems in the Walking Horse business.
Voice of the Tennessee Walking Horse