Trail ride rape victim reaches a settlement
Group to pay $575K; rodeo dismissed with prejudice from suit
A representative of a trail ride group entered into a settlement Friday with a woman who was raped during an official event on the trail during the lead-up to the Houston rodeo in 2012.
As part of the deal, the Los Vaqueros Rio Grande Trail Ride Association will pay $575,000 and the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo will be dismissed with prejudice from the suit, meaning that the assault victim cannot refile the suit.
Brie Ana Williams, 25, who filed the lawsuit over a violent assault in Liberty County, went public about her civil case. The Houston Chronicle does not typically name victims who allege sexual assault.
Attorney Chad Pinkerton called the agreement a “landmark” that will hold both the rodeo and the Trail Ride Association responsible for safety of participants in all events.
“My client just made the rodeo and Trail Ride Associations safer ... for herself and for everyone,” he said. “She felt that she should have been better protected at the event, and now, we know she was right.”
However, Pat Mizell, who represents the rodeo in the case, said the rodeo was dismissed from the matter without any financial liability.
“It’s a complete exoneration of the rodeo, and to suggest otherwise is inexplicable,” Mizell said.
A spokesperson for the rodeo confirmed that Los Vaqueros Rio Grande Trail Ride Association and the lawyer for the victim settled a liability lawsuit related to a sexual assault at a Vaqueros function in December 2012, when Williams was 19. A news statement also noted that this event was “completely unrelated to any Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo event” and that the district court judge “officially dismissed the Rodeo from the lawsuit and there was no money paid by or on behalf of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo.”
Los Vaqueros is among the groups that re-create historic cowboy trail rides, on horseback and in covered wagons, traveling from different locations around Texas and converging in Houston
“It’s a complete exoneration of the rodeo, and to suggest otherwise is inexplicable.”
Pat Mizell, attorney for the rodeo
as the rodeo opens.
A related lawsuit and counterclaim prompted by an open records inquiry from media consultant Wayne Dolcefino remains pending before state District Judge Steven Kirkland. Dolcefino is seeking records about the rodeo’s nonprofit finances, sexual assault and harassment claims and details about the security provided during events.
Dolcefino’s lawyer, Jeff Diamant, said the timing of the settlement — hours before a scheduled court hearing — was not a coincidence.
“There’s no indication that they’re going to do anything to ensure greater security for those who go to the rodeo,” Diamant said. “The only agreement is that someone has agreed to pay off this liability.”
“That means the rodeo walks away from this case scot-free,” he said.