Area man takes stand in suit on cattle operation

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An area man took the stand Thursday as he and his attorney continued to build their case in a jury trial to settle a dispute involving a Mount Vernon cattle operation.

Travis Hostler, part owner of the Mount Vernon-based Dry Run Cattle Co., gave testimony before a jury hoping to strengthen his claim against his former partners in a drug-free cattle operation.

Hostler and his attorney Carl J. Koch, of Mitchell, are seeking more than $287,000 in damages for losses they say were the result of a shipment of cattle from North Dakota that included animals with an immune system infection that led to pneumonia.

Dry Run Cattle Co. is claiming Dan Knoll, of Grafton City, Ill., an agent of KLC LLC, and the Minnesota-based company Central Livestock Association Inc., breached the terms of an agreement to raise and sell 1,105 head of drug-free cattle by supplying cattle that were sick.

The lawsuit, filed in 2008, went to trial at the Davison County Courthouse Tuesday morning.

The trial is scheduled to reconvene early this morning and conclude by the end of the day.

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