## Facts

- Judy Taylor owned two registered Appaloosa horses, Poco and P.J., for over a decade and considered them akin to family.
- Due to serious health problems, Taylor sought a “free-lease” arrangement so another person would care for the horses while she retained ownership and control.
- Taylor placed the horses with Lisa and Jeff Burgess after Lisa agreed Taylor could visit and reclaim the horses if the Burgesses no longer wanted them.
- Shortly after taking possession, Lisa sold the horses to a buyer associated with slaughter for about $1,000.
- When Taylor called to arrange a visit, Lisa falsely stated the horses were “gone” and provided misleading information about who had taken them.
- A humane investigator later confirmed the horses had been transported to a slaughter facility and killed.
- Taylor testified she suffered severe psychological and physical symptoms after learning of the slaughter, including panic attacks, anxiety, depression, suicidal thoughts, high blood pressure, and sleep disturbance.
- Taylor sued for breach of contract, conversion, and intentional infliction of emotional distress (IIED/outrage).
- The jury awarded $1,000 (market value), $50,000 (compensatory emotional distress), and $75,000 (punitive damages); the trial court denied post-trial relief.

## Issues

1. Whether IIED/outrage may be applied to the intentional conversion and slaughter of companion animals to permit recovery for the owner’s severe emotional distress.
2. Whether the compensatory emotional-distress and punitive damages were excessive or otherwise improper.

## Decision

- The Kentucky Court of Appeals affirmed the judgment for Taylor.
- The court held IIED/outrage can apply to the intentional conversion and slaughter of companion animals when the defendant’s conduct is extreme and intolerable.
- The court upheld the $50,000 emotional-distress award as supported by evidence of severe distress.
- The court upheld the $75,000 punitive award based on intentional, deceitful conduct showing fraud, malice, or reckless indifference.
- The court found no basis to conclude the verdict resulted from passion or prejudice or that the trial court abused its discretion in denying remittitur or a new trial.

## Legal Principles

- IIED/outrage requires: (1) intentional or reckless conduct, (2) outrageous and intolerable conduct, (3) causation, and (4) severe emotional distress.
- Whether conduct is “outrageous” turns on the offender’s behavior, not on whether the subject of the conduct is categorized as property.
- Traditional limits on property damages for animals (often measured by market value) do not bar IIED recovery when the claim rests on independent, extreme misconduct directed at (or in reckless disregard of) the owner’s emotional interests.
- Severe emotional distress may be shown through substantial, nontrivial psychological and physical symptoms; credibility and degree are primarily for the jury.
- Punitive damages are permissible where conduct reflects oppression, fraud, malice, or conscious disregard of another’s rights, including deliberate deception accompanying an intentional taking.

## Conclusion

The court affirmed liability and significant emotional-distress and punitive damages where defendants, knowing the owner’s attachment and the limits of a free-lease, promptly sold the horses for slaughter and lied about their fate, supporting a jury finding of outrageous conduct and severe distress under Kentucky IIED/outrage doctrine.


Burgess v. Taylor, 44 S.W.3d 806 (Ky. Ct. App. 2001)