14 DAY TRIAL // In March last year, HBO pulled the plug on “Luck” after three horses died in suspicious circumstances. That was just the icing on the cake, a new lawsuit filed by a former employee of the American Humane Association claims.
Barbara Casey is taking HBO and the AHA to court over claims that she was wrongfully fired after she repeatedly signaled cases of horse abuse that were being covered up by the network just so the production would still shoot, the LA Times reports.
“AHA bowed to political and financial pressure and refused to report the Production Defendants' conduct to the authorities. AHA instructed Plaintiff not to report such conduct. AHA engaged in efforts to conceal and cover up the production defendants' criminal activities,” Casey claims in the lawsuit.
She is asking for unspecified damages.
HBO has already responded to the claims in the lawsuit and, as expected, it deems them meritless and libelous, while also throwing AHA under the bus by saying the woman was never on their payroll.
“We took every precaution to ensure that our horses were treated humanely and with the utmost care, exceeding every safeguard of all protocols and guidelines required of the production. Barbara Casey was not an employee of HBO, and any questions regarding her employment should be directed to the AHA,” the statement says.