A 22-page ruling on the Purebred Arabian Trust vs Arabian Horse Association lawsuit, which was initiated by the PAT, was handed down by Judge Elizabeth Beebe Volz. The Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law, and Judgement settle the dispute between the two associations. The suit related to which organization owned the $2.8 million Horse Registration System (HRS) software developed and paid for by AHA. On September 19, 2018, the judge ruled that HRS was not a part of the "licensed technology agreement" and, therefore, is owned solely by AHA.
Another key issue was whether the contract work AHA does for the Canadian Arabian Horse Registry (CAHR) is subject to royalty payments to the PAT. Again, the court ruled against the PAT, stating "the Association is not using either the database or the Licensed Technology to perform services associated with registrations on behalf of the Canadian group."
There were counterclaims by AHA against PAT trustees over Breach of Contract and Covenant Good Faith and Fair Dealing, Unjust Enrichment, Breach of Fiduciary Duty, and Civil Conspiracy. These counterclaims were denied once it became clear AHA had not been damaged when it did not lose ownership of the HRS software.
Finally, the judge ruled in favor of the Trust finding that AHA is required to provide a functioning version of software capable of registering Purebred Arabian horses and AHA is required to maintain the database for such registrations. AHA continues to maintain the database for the registration of Purebred Arabian horses.
AHA Executive Vice President Glenn Petty stated, "After two years in litigation, exchanging 13,000 pages of discovery items, 250 courtroom exhibits, hours and hours of depositions, and eight days in court, it is great to receive this ruling."
"With the end of this lawsuit, we can now move on and work together to promote the Arabian, Half-Arabian and Anglo-Arabian horse," said AHA President Nancy Harvey.
-- via AHA