Houses and horses are Fresch's focus. She represents developers and general contractors, subcontractors and product manufacturers.
And her love of horses has led her into a nearly-unique niche practice. The equine bar numbers about 15 lawyers in California, she estimated, and her American Bar Association post on the equine subcommittee of the Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Section isn't exactly overcrowded either. "We are a pretty small subcommittee," she said.
What does a horse lawyer do? Fresch defended a trainer sued by a novice rider who fell from her mount during a lesson. The plaintiff sought more than $250,000. "She fell from her own horse and claimed the saddle slipped because my client had not tightened the girth," or belly strap, Fresch said. "We disputed that. Plus the plaintiff had signed a release. Luckily, California has strong case law that favors upholding releases related to sports."
A Santa Clara County Superior Court judge granted Fresch's client summary judgment, rejecting the plaintiff's claim that the waiver of liability was neither clear nor unambiguous and was insufficient to release the defendant from her own negligence. Fresch is seeking a costs award.
Fresch is well known in the world of amateur show jumping, where she has long competed. "I was a new lawyer, and I had a backyard horse," she said, recalling her early years in practice. "Then I had the financials to take lessons and get serious about jumping. It had always been my dream as a little girl." She now owns two jumpers, Tender and Cassandra 13, and she enjoys the fact that Tender, so-named when she bought her, is a legal term as well as a moniker. "A bit of a double-entendre," she said, though the horse doesn't make bids or offers. "She just requires a lot of carrots," Fresch said.
In another equine case Fresch again obtained summary judgment for her client, a participant in an endurance riding event who became the defendant in a $4 million personal injury suit filed by a co-participant who suffered a serious back injury when the client's horse spooked, unseated him and crashed into the plaintiff. Again, the plaintiff had signed an enforceable release agreement and was subject to the primary assumption of risk doctrine, Fresch said. A Riverside County judge awarded the defense almost $32,000 in costs; the plaintiff's appeal is pending.
"I have developed friendships and professional relationships with equine lawyers across the country," Fresch said. She networks at horse shows, where she's won blue ribbons in her division in the U.S. and the equivalent red ribbons in Canada. As for her mode of transport when she gets a new client? It's not horseback. "I don't ride to the scene, unfortunately," she said.
John Roemer
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