Actor Tom Selleck, famous for his role in Magnum PI, has been awarded more than £114,000 ($187,000) after a jury agreed that he was tricked into buying a lame horse.
Selleck bought the £73,000 ($120,000), 10-year-old horse named Zorro for his 20-year-old daughter to ride in amateur competitions.
The Friends star accused the seller, Dolores Cuenca, of duping him into buying a show horse that was not fit to ride in competitions, saying the horse was sold to him with a pre-existing medical condition.
In the subsequent lawsuit, the defence argued that the actor had not checked the vet records.
But the jury ruled in Selleck’s favour, awarding him a lump sum to cover the purchase price of Zorro, as well as additional boarding costs.
A second hearing will begin tomorrow (Tuesday 8 September) to determine how much compensation Mr Selleck should receive.
George Kopfler, Selleck’s lawyer, said, “We are pleased with the jury’s verdict and we look forward to the proceedings on Tuesday”.
