SLO County girl accused of cheating in pig competition sues Santa Barbara County fair

Accusations that a Santa Barbara County Fair Junior Livestock Auction exhibitor cheated after her pig allegedly tested positive for drugs — leading to a lifetime ban for the girl and a temporary timeout for her siblings — have prompted a lawsuit.

The legal action filed in Santa Barbara County Superior Court names Nipomo resident Mylee Neuschafer plus her siblings Mia, Kai, Kale and Kane and their parents Erica and Weston Neuschafer as plaintiffs.

The California Department of Food and Agriculture, the 37th District Agricultural Association, the Santa Barbara Fairpark Foundation, fair board members, veterinarians and fair staff have been named as defendants.

The five children, who are home-schooled, entered the 2022 Santa Barbara County Fair breeding and livestock show with various animal projects.

“The wrongful claims of cheating asserted by the Santa Maria Fairpark Foundation Inc. board of directors has spread throughout the community, causing extreme emotional distress to, and damage to the reputation of, each and every member of the Neuschafer family,” according to the complaint filed by attorneys from the San Francisco-based law firm Hawkins Parnell & Young LLP.

The lawsuit, filed in June, named individual members of the county fair board, which is formally known as the 37th District Agricultural Association Board of Directors.

However, the individuals are incorrectly referred to as foundation board members, which is a separate nonprofit organization to raise funds for capital improvements at the Santa Maria Fairpark.

Also named are veterinarians, alleging that “their actions in overseeing the collection of samples failed to safeguard against contamination and false results.”

What happened at Santa Barbara County Fair?

The girl, Mylee Neuschafer, who turns 15 this month, entered a gilt or swine in the 2022 fair, receiving a certificate with the animal’s weight before someone protested.

Fair staff demanded that Mylee pick up her gilt and remove it from the fairgrounds within 45 minutes, the complaint said.

The lawsuit claimed the order to remove the pig violated county fair and state rules, including that a protest must take place before the animal leaves the scale, that a $500 payment be made and the violated rule be identified.

The teenager also submitted DNA for two hogs in the cross-bred livestock section but took only one to the fair. After she and her pig captured a top showmanship award, she was directed outside for a urine collection of her hog, without her parents or adviser.

While her parents spoke with fair staff about the requirement to be with their daughter during the collection process, multiple other unauthorized people entered the collection area, according to the lawsuit.

In addition to the urine sample taken from the hog, a hair collector took several hair samples of the hog for comparison with a DNA sample taken by the exhibitor before the event.

Nipomo girl stripped of awards, banned from fair for life

Weeks later, fair Chief Executive Officer Caitlin Miller called the family and claimed Mylee’s championship hog’s drug test came back positive, leading to the girl being stripped of awards, losing auction money and getting banned from future fairs for life.

Additionally, her siblings were banned for three years with the accusations spreading through the fair community.

During a public meeting, a fair board member leveled accusations of cheating because of the failed drug tests and a switched pig for the DNA test, according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit cites negligence, intentional infliction of emotional distress, defamation, breach of contract and violation of due process rights.

The family also seeks an injunction that would prevent the defendants from prohibiting the siblings from participating in future fairs.

Why is SLO County family suing?

The plaintiffs are seeking more than $25,000 in general damages, special damages for Mylee’s loss of awards and profits, incidental expenses and punitive damages.

However, they also have demanded another remedy, saying money would not correct the damage to the family’s name.

They also want a judge to order the defendants “to announce to the public, including the fair community, that the accusations of cheating were found to be false and incorrect and a result of the fair’s failure to follow its own policies, procedures and rules.”

As of Monday, only one defendant, Dr. Verne Thacker, had filed a response to the lawsuit, denying all allegations listing 27 affirmative defenses, including assumption of risk, plaintiffs’ negligence, third-party negligence and more.

Thacker has asked the judge to award him attorney and lawsuit costs.

Reached by phone Monday, Miller declined to comment about the lawsuit on behalf of the fair and its board members.

Civil complaints represent one side of the story and the defendants are expected to file written responses.

A case management conference has been scheduled for Oct. 25 before Santa Maria Judge Jed Beebe.

Noozhawk North County editor Janene Scully can be reached at jscully@noozhawk.com .