Settlement reached in SLL case

Smart Little Lena Case Settled



Written by Mark Thompson (John Brasseaux photo)

Smart Little Lena

Four years of civil lawsuits and countersuits involving cutting’s first Triple Crown winner and its all-time leading sire, Smart Little Lena, ended Oct. 16, with a settlement agreement in an Amarillo, Texas, court room.

“The deal is done. The court approved it and all parties signed,” Dallas attorney Jay Vogelson said. Vogelson represents the estate of the late Bill Freeman, who trained and rode Smart Little Lena throughout his cutting career, and Bill’s widow, Jill Freeman.

There was some late drama, though. Three Smart Little Lena Syndicate members did not sign the complicated multi-party agreement, considered a unanimous or nothing deal by at least some parties involved, until a few hours before Thursday’s 3 p.m. hearing.

If any of the three had not signed, a civil court trial would have begun Oct. 20, in Amarillo, according to Dallas-based attorney Tom Thomas. He represents Smart Little Lena Syndicate members who aligned in a class action lawsuit, and longtime Smart Little Lena caretaker Tommy Manion, Aubrey, Texas.

"A legal question came up about the interpretation of a phrase in that order. That’s why those three held off on signing off,” Vogelson said.

The final resolution left some Smart Little Lena Syndicate members upset with others, but legally, all issues were resolved.

"Yeah, there are hard feelings,” Thomas said, but he added resolving the case should allow progress. “People have been distracted from doing their job for quite some time.”
Vogelson agreed, saying, “It’s good that the case is concluded,” but he said his clients, Jill Freeman and Bill Freeman Inc., were not satisfied. “We are missing Bill Freeman.”

The settlement includes a “global release” for all parties from any future suits, including the possibility that a wrongful death claim might have been filed.

Smart Little Lena litigation probably contributed to Freeman’s death, Vogelson said.
Freeman, 58, Rosston, Texas, died July 29 at Baylor Medical Center in Dallas, from complications of fungal pneumonia and chronic asthma, a family spokesperson said.
“The release granted by Jill Freeman includes wrongful death claims,” Vogelson said. “Shareholders insisted on that being included in the release, and they were right to request it. The controversy was devastating to Bill.”

Thomas disagreed. He said it was Freeman who originally filed a lawsuit against the Smart Little Lena Syndicate. Freeman also prevented it from settling sooner, he said.

“You can’t kill someone with a lawsuit,” Thomas said. “That’s ridiculous.”

Court documents filed shortly before the settlement indicate Smart Little Lena Syndicate members and Jill Freeman approved a deal including a $350,000 payment to Bill Freeman’s estate, plus a $477,500 payment to Tommy Manion and the Smart Little Lena Syndicate members who joined the class action suit. That’s enough to pay their legal fees, with money left over, said attorneys involved in the case. It also appeared insurance companies representing individual parties would pay most of the settlement.

Bill Freeman was removed as co-chairman of the Smart Little Lena Syndicate, and his second wife, Jill Freeman, was also removed as the Syndicate’s secretary following allegations they mismanaged its assets.

The Freemans filed a lawsuit against the syndicate, and one against Manion, claiming he slandered their reputations and abused his role managing Smart Little Lena. Suits and countersuits with litigation pitting Bill and Jill Freeman against the Smart Little Lena Syndicate, Manion, and Bill Freeman's first wife, Karen Freeman, continued over the years. No court ever determined whether anyone misappropriated syndicate money.

An auditor hired by the Smart Little Lena Syndicate produced a report claiming Bill Freeman, in his role as syndicate manager, misappropriated at least $223,759. An auditor hired by the Freemans concluded there was no evidence Freeman misused any funds and stated that the syndicate’s report “did not consider all documents available in this matter.”

"The auditor hired by the Freemans identified, specifically, a good number of important documents that Manion’s auditor did not have and did not review," Vogelson said. "It’s as clear as can possibly be in those reports. At the end of the day, the expert forensic reports show they [the Freemans] are exonerated.”

Thomas countered, saying, "The auditor couldn’t review the documents because the Freemans wouldn’t turn them over. Even without them [the documents in question] they found that Freemans were guilty of stolen funds.”

In another twist, during September, a Texas appellate court ordered Manion to release his financial documents relating to Smart Little Lena, dating from Jan. 1, 2000, through the present. The Sept. 11 ruling by the Court of Appeals for the Seventh District Amarillo, Texas, upheld a prior district court ruling that Manion should turn over his records.

Vogelson claimed the appellate court ruling requiring Manion to provide his records played a role in securing this week’s settlement. Thomas disagreed, saying that Manion only took care of the horse and never controlled Smart Little Lena Syndicate money. According to Thomas, the ruling requiring Manion to turn over financial records played no role in the settlement.From here on out

There is, in Manion’s words, “no question” that ending the litigation will improve the business of promoting Smart Little Lena.

"It removes a cloud that’s been hanging over the Syndicate for three or four years,’’ Manion said.

Despite the controversy, Smart Little Lena remained productive.“He’s 29 years old and he had 61 conceptions this year. That’s unheard of for a 29-year-old horse,’’ Manion said. “He continues to break records.”Smart Little Lena (Doc O’Lena x Smart Peppy x Peppy San) won $743,275 during his cutting career. He remained the sport’s all-time leading sire at the end of 2007 with 1,009 performing foals that had earned $34,374,552. He also retained a strong current presence, ranking fifth on the Quarter Horse News’ list of leading cutting horse sires in 2007, with 258 of his offspring earning a combined $1,172,805 last year.

He will turn 30 on Jan. 1. Earlier this month, Manion reported Smart Little Lena’s semen is no longer being collected, as a medical precaution and a concession to age. That will not end his breeding career, however. Enough of his frozen semen has been stored to breed 100 mares the next two years with conventional draws, and single-sperm injection draws have been stored that could allow “almost limitless” breeding, Manion said.

Five Smart Little Lena clones also turn 3 on Jan. 1. Syndicate members must decide soon which of them might train for competition, perhaps including the 2009 National Cutting Horse Association Futurity. The NCHA recently clarified there are no rules against cloned horses competing at its cutting events.Aside from Father Time catching up in the collection department, the original Smart Little Lena remains “a picture of health,” Manion said.