Schockemöhle Wins Lawsuit Over Totilas' Frozen Semen

Breeding

KWPN

The court in Arnheim (NED) has ruled in favour of Paul Schockemöhle in the lawsuit over Totilas' frozen semen against the stallion's previous owner, Kees Visser.

The Semen Story

The KWPN stallion Totilas (by Gribaldi x Glendale), World and European Champion and world record breaker, passed away on 14 December 2020 following a severe colic attack.

In January 2021, the Dutch stallion station Holstud announces on Eurodressage that it will be selling Kees Visser's 244 straws of frozen semen, exclusively for ICSI insemination (Equine Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection). A month later the price is set at 3,750 euro per ICSI procedure, but with a partial gestation guarantee. 2750 euro would be repaid if the mare is not in foal.

Paul Schockemöhle, who bought Totilas after the 2010 World Equestrian Games, had been standing him at stud since 2011. He first put the price at 8,000 euro per covering. In 2016 he dropped it to 5,500 euro, then to 4,000 euro, then to 2,500 euro. In 2020 the stud fee was 2,800 euro.

In the sales transaction, Schockemöhle received 600 straws of semen, as Visser only wanted to keep some (i.e;. 244) for his own breeding at the time. Many of the 600 straws turned out to be infected with the CEM bacteria and were useless. The stallion was treated for the disease in 2011 and his semen had been clean since then.

The Lawsuit

When Visser announced the sale of his frozen semen, Schockemöhle immediately sued the Dutchman as the German owner believes he owns the exclusive breeding rights to the stallion, and therefore also the 244 semen straws which Visser had in storage. He filed an injunction in the Civil Court in Oldenburg (GER) in February 2021.

On 12 March 2021 the Court in Oldenburg decided that Visser is not allowed to sell any semen until the matter is decided in court. Visser appealed that decision but the Appeals court in Oldenburg reconfirmed that verdict on 7 July 2021. Visser issued his own press release on the matter.

This heavily publicized lawsuit revealed that Schockemöhle had paid 9.5 million euro for the stallion in 2010 and not the rumoured 11.2 million.

The Tug of War

The legal tug of war between Visser and Schockemöhle continued and Visser brought the battle to The Netherlands to the Court Midden-Nederland in Arnheim.

Visser had the court sequester all of the German owned Totilas' semen in The Netherlands, which laid in storage at Joop van Uytert's stallion stallion, as well as some horses for a value of 3.5 million euro. Visser calculated a profit of 6 million euro on those straws.

The Verdict

At the beginning of last week, the Court in Arnheim cast its verdict and ruled in favour of Schockemöhle. They consider him the rightful owner of Totilas' semen with the exclusive right to sell it.

"We are happy with this verdict," Schockemöhle's Dutch lawyer Maud van den Berg told Quote. "It's well considered, feels honest and just and is true to what really happened."

Visser's lawyer Luc Schelstraete responded, "we unequivocally disagree." He thinks the court now sends a message to the horse world "if I. sell a stallion, do I automatically sell his semen too."

Joop van Uytert has Totilas' frozen semen in storage in The Netherlands. In principle he's allowed to sell it now, but according to Quote it's still sequestered.