For the last ten years MWL has self-published and distributed its book entitled “Where’s The Beef?: Subrogating Livestock/Vehicle Collisions in All 50 States.” Recently, the firm has partnered with its legal treatise publisher, Juris Publishers, Inc. in New York, to publish, market, and distribute the latest edition of the book. It has been retitled “Where’s The Beef: Litigating Livestock/Vehicle Collisions in All 50 States.” Whereas the book has, for the last decade, been produced and printed in soft cover, Juris has taken the book to new levels and now joins MWL’s other subrogation and insurance litigation treatises in hard cover:
- Automobile Insurance Subrogation In All 50 States
- Workers’ Compensation Subrogation In All 50 States
- ERISA and Health Insurance Subrogation In All 50 States
- Fundamentals of Insurance Coverage In All 50 States
The book cover can be viewed HERE. “Where’s The Beef?” Litigating Livestock/Vehicle Collisions In All 50 States is the most thorough treatment of this area of subrogation law ever assembled. Even more than other areas of subrogation, the laws regarding liability of livestock owners are esoteric, complex, and in a constant state of flux and change. Even a thorough understanding of state law on the subject leaves one lacking for the full legal picture, as many states allow individual counties to pass local stock laws relevant only to accidents occurring within that county. The book helps the claims professional with even the smallest of claims by providing relevant case and statutory law to cite to liability adjusters who might otherwise simply deny the claim. It also helps subrogation attorneys by providing the resource tools necessary to litigate this area of the law in which the law varies not only from state to state and county to county, but quite literally, from one side of the street to the other.
Another useful resource contained within this book can be found in Sections 1.4 and 1.5 of Chapter One, entitled, “Purposes of Subrogation” and “Anti-Subrogation Arguments”. These sections contain a strong policy argument in favor of subrogation – something sorely missing within this area of the insurance industry. These arguments can be used in appellate briefs as well as correspondence with third-party claims professionals with whom you are negotiating for resolution of a claim. They also contain a rundown on the most prevalent anti-subrogation arguments we run across in our business and counterarguments to those positions. It’s time to defend public policy and the societal/economic benefits of subrogation, and these two sections serve as a starting point.
Another huge first for this new book offering by Juris is that Gary Wickert, the author of “Where’s The Beef?” has now been joined by his partner, Mark Solomon, as co-author. Mark practices out of the firm’s Austin, Texas branch office. Mark has added something truly unique to the book in the latest edition. Livestock population in the United States reveals Texas at the very top:
- Texas – 4,475,000.
- Oklahoma – 2,131,000.
- Missouri – 1,941,000.
- Nebraska – 1,832,000.
- South Dakota – 1,610,000.
- Kansas – 1,422,000.
- Montana – 1,299,000.
- Kentucky – 966,000.
Despite having more cattle than the next two states combined, Texas doesn’t even appear in the top eight states ranked by likelihood of collision with an animal:
- West Virginia – 1 in 37.
- Montana – 1 in 39.
- South Dakota – 1 in 48.
- Michigan – 1 in 54.
- Pennsylvania – 1 in 54.
- Wisconsin – 1 in 56.
- Mississippi – 1 in 57.
- Wyoming – 1 in 59.
But Texas is unique among all states in its implementation of Stock Laws in that unlike every other state, Texas allows (with a few limited exceptions) the citizens of each of the 254 counties within Texas to vote to adopt Stock Laws—local laws which govern whether the country will be closed range, open range, etc. This process is pursuant to the Texas Agriculture Code Sec. 143, which sets out the requirements for Stock Law Elections in Texas. In most counties, these laws were voted on and passed before the discovery of electricity, making access to the paper laws and microfiche on which they exist very difficult. In order to litigate in Texas, one had to take the time and effort to travel to reach out to the county in question or visit the county courthouse. In some cases, the records being sought have been lost to fire in a courthouse.
Mark Solomon recently undertook a monumental task that had never been done before in American vehicle/livestock jurisprudence. He set out to compile a list of the Stock Law adoptions in all 254 counties in Texas. To complete the task, Mark methodically called county clerks, county judges, and their staff, who all generously assisted in tracking down the records from the elections. Some of these records were handwritten from the late 1800’s and the most recent county to have an election had one in 2016. The resulting compilation of stock laws from all 254 Texas counties was then compiled into a chart and is now generously contained in the new edition of “Where’s The Beef?”
We often underestimate the damage and injury which can result from the collision of a 2,000 lb. automobile with a 1,500 lb. Holstein-Friesian steer, but serious personal injuries and death resulting from livestock/vehicle collisions are common. Personal injury lawyers routinely represent victims of livestock/vehicle collisions and must be familiar with the often-ancient laws and statutes which govern the rights and remedies of their clients in any of the fifty jurisdictions.
The laws regarding liability of livestock owners are esoteric, complex, and in a constant state of flux and change—much more so than in other areas of subrogation. Practitioners with even a thorough understanding of state law often lack the full legal picture on the subject, as many states allow individual counties to pass local stock laws relevant only to accidents occurring within that county. This book is intended to bridge that gap.
For questions about subrogating or litigating livestock/vehicle collisions anywhere in America, contact Gary Wickert at gwickert@mwl-law.com or Mark Solomon at msolomon@mwl-law.com.
Gary Wickert is an insurance trial lawyer and a partner with Matthiesen, Wickert & Lehrer, S.C., and is regarded as one of the world’s leading experts on insurance subrogation. He is the author of several subrogation books and legal treatises and is a national and international speaker and lecturer on subrogation and motivational topics.
Mark A. Solomon is an insurance trial lawyer and the managing partner of Matthiesen, Wickert & Lehrer’s Austin, Texas branch office. Mark is licensed to practice law in Texas, Colorado, and Georgia. Mark’s practice focuses on complex property and casualty subrogation, workers’ compensation subrogation, and automobile subrogation.
