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Dog Show Judge Bites Back - Civil Lawsuitby Louis Fallon (See # Handy Links at end of Article for Reference Material)
Mr. Philip H. Martin, an American Kennel Club approved dog show judge, has filed a civil lawsuit against a dog fancier who wrote defamatory comments about his integrity as a dog show judge on an Internet email list. The libel suit filed in October 2006 in Broward County Circuit Court in Orlando, Florida, (#1 civil action #06-16864-09), alleges that dog fancier Ms. Sandra Teague has defamed his good name and reputation by writing libelous statements that were published on (#2 cyberdobes.com), an Internet email list.
Mr. Martin and his stud dog BIS BISS CH. Phillmar X-Static (X-Static) have earned a Best In Show award competing as breeder-owner-handler, which is quite a remarkable achievement, as any experienced dog fancier will attest to.
 The
civil lawsuit alleges that Ms. Teague criticized Mr. Martin for
judging Doberman Pinschers at the August 26, 2006 (#3 Santa Barbara Kennel Club) in California and awarding Winner Dog, Best of Winners and one championship point to a Doberman Pinscher that was sired by Mr. Martin’s own Doberman, CH. Phillmar X-Static. Ms.
Teague allegedly wrote she would "bet money" that Martin knew that
the dog entered, Holder Parks Red Hot Cayenne, was sired by Mr.
Martin's dog CH. X-Static.
Duh, any dog show judge that could NOT recognize the offspring of his own BIS BISS Champion stud dog should be permanently assigned to pooper-scooper duty and mucking out the porta-john bathrooms at outdoor dog shows. Ms. Teague displays her ignorance by libeling a dog show judge for doing his job – selecting the best dog in the dog show ring according to his interpretation of the breed standard. The AKC Library and other repositories of canine literature have articles, stories, even illustrated breed standards written by American dog show judges for over one hundred and fifty years as they communicated their interpretation of the breed standard and requirements to the general public and their fellow dog fanciers. The earliest writings were about the field dogs, today’s Sporting breeds. In the dog show ring the breed dog show judges are expected and required to judge according to the breed standard. It is true that reasonable people can differ on how the breed standard is interpreted, and what we as the founding fathers (and mothers) of the breed meant when we wrote the breed standard. Many if not most dog show judges are very consistent in their selection of dogs in the breed competition, year after year, decade after decade as they judge dogs from coast to coast.
Mr. Martin's attorney is William McCormick, a partner at the (#4 Ruden McClosky Law Firm) in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, one of Florida's largest and most prominent law firms. Lawyer McCormick, who also shows Doberman Pinschers, mentioned that he first met Mr. Martin through attendance at dog shows. Please, no lawyer jokes about it is better to have them at dog shows then chasing ambulances. Lawyer McCormick said X-Static is a stud dog and that Mr. Martin sells X-Static's semen for breeding purposes.
(#5 Phillmar Dobermans) which is dog show judge Martin's website, lists Cayenne as one of X-Static's numerous stud dog offspring. However, Mr. Martin does not have any ownership interest in any of the offspring that his X-Static stud dog sires. Lawyer McCormick said that his client Mr. Martin did not reap any benefits, financial or otherwise, from Cayenne. Well, perhaps other then the pride and satisfaction that every dog breeder or proud parent or grand-parent has when their offspring, two legged or four legged, achieves an award, honor, championship certificate or elective office.
The website cyberdobes.com is oriented to people who breed Doberman Pinschers, and is one of hundreds of pure-bred dog show sites. CybeDobes has an interesting credo - “ What goes on in the pack … stays in the pack.” It reads like someone has watched too many “What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas” TV commercials. Perhaps they should have also watched the numerous Law & Order TV shows which often voice the U.S. Supreme Court hallowed words “Anything you say, can and will be used against you”.
According to the AKC, dog show judges may officiate at dog shows entries with the offspring of their dogs, as long as the dog show judge does not have any ownership interest in the dog being shown to him.
Lawyer McCormick stated "We're hoping for a verdict that will send a message to the defendant and others that they can't post these types of false and libelous statements on the Internet with impunity". There are a growing number of defamation suits around the country based on comments posted on Internet blogs and chat sites. In September 2006, a Weston, Florida woman won an $11.3 million defamation verdict in Broward County Circuit Court over statements that were posted on an Internet bulletin board. Lawyer McCormick attributes the growing liability trend to the fact that people posting the online statements are "sitting in their own homes behind keyboards and computer screens," and they forget their published statements have real consequences and can hurt people.
Mr. Martin obtained his American Kennel Club judge's license on September 1, 2005, and has judged four shows since then, according to his lawsuit. Mr. Martin also breeds, trains and shows Doberman Pinschers. He has had eighteen champions, according to his website.
Ms. Teague's comments were written on the website cyberdobes.com following the August 26, 2006 show in Santa Barbara where Mr. Martin judged Doberman Pinschers. Ms. Teague did not have a dog in that Santa Barbara show, lawyer McCormick said. The civil lawsuit suit alleges that Ms. Teague "directly challenged Mr. Martin's integrity and fitness to judge" by wrongfully suggesting he violated the American Kennel Club's code of ethics by judging a show that featured a dog sired by his own stud dog. Ms. Teague also wrote on the website in September that Martin "has smoozed [sic] his way to the TOP [and] obtained a judging license without having ALL the requirements needed". Ms. Teague also said that Martin needs "anger management ... or a good stiff drink" before shows.
The civil lawsuit complaint said Ms. Teague's comments have damaged Mr. Martin, impugned his good name, reputation and character and subjected him to ridicule and disgrace within the Doberman Pinscher dog show world. The lawsuit also states that Ms. Teague's comments caused many dog show exhibitors to demand he be replaced at an upcoming dog show. According to the lawsuit, a dog club that hired Mr. Martin to officiate in their dog show ring has been contacted by many exhibitors who threatened to withhold their entries unless the dog club found a new Doberman Pinscher dog show judge. Lawyer McCormick said he does not know if Martin has been replaced. "Martin has worked tirelessly to better the Doberman pinschers breed, to establish his reputation as a premiere breeder of Doberman Pinschers and to be recognized as an authority on the Doberman Pinscher breed," the lawsuit said.
As of November 8, 2006 the AKC website lists Mr. Martin as a provisional dog show judge, number 48091, with four completed assignments and eight future assignments approved. The civil court lawsuit entry having been made, William McCormick a competent lawyer and dog fancier handling the case, we will now wait for a real judge in a real Florida court room with a real jury to judge dog show judge Mr. Philip H. Martin’s civil lawsuit. We wish him well.
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