Ranch manager accused of theft, defamation

SAGLE — The former manager at the Fulmer Perrin Ranch is accused of using a position of trust to rustle horses and misappropriate funds.

The owners of the ranch, Allen Fulmer and Carol Perrin, are seeking damages in excess of $10,000, according to a lawsuit filed in 1st District Court on Thursday.

Casey Robert Hislop was hired as a ranch hand in 2017 and was promoted to ranch manager the following year.

“In his role as ranch manager, the defendant Casey Hislop undertook a course of action in violation of his employment duties and obligations, his position of trust and under false pretenses,” the ranch’s counsel, Sandpoint attorney John Finney, said in a civil complaint.

The suit seeks damages for breach of contract and fiduciary duty, fraud, misrepresentation and defamation. It alleges that Hislop appropriated ranch property for himself, including money and horses.

The ranch provided funds to purchase a horse called Spirit and another horse named Maya.

The lawsuit alleges that Hislop purchased and withheld Spirit, a horse worth $9,000. It further alleges that the ranch provided funding to purchase Maya, but acted on misrepresentations and false statements by Hislop. The defamation claim pertains to allegations that Hislop contacted the Bonner County Sheriff’s Office and accused the ranch of theft.

Hislop has 21 days to file an answer to the lawsuit or risk a default judgment in the plaintiff’s favor.

No criminal charges have been filed in connection with the alleged thefts, according to Idaho’s online courts database.

Keith Kinnaird can be reached by email at kkinnaird@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow him on Twitter @KeithDailyBee.