How 30 minutes of work experience at a vet led to “racist” row and a four-year court battle

Ellie Eppinga was just half-an-hour into her first shift at a Sydney vet clinic when a “racist” row broke out. It has seen the two sides spend four years in court.

Ellie Eppinga has been involved in a four-year legal battle with a Beacon Hills veterinary clinic.

Thirty minutes of work experience could leave a veterinary student more than $100,000 out of pocket after she left a scathing review about the clinic on social media, leading to a wild court battle.

Ellie Eppinga was just half-an-hour into her first shift at Beacon Hill Veterinary Clinic in Sydney’s northern beaches in January 2019 when a row broke out between her and Dr Mahmoud Kalil, as nurse Kylie Eather watched on.

The row has led to an expensive four year fight in the NSW courts.

The NSW District Court heard earlier this year that Dr Kalil claimed the row started when, not long after arriving at the clinic, Ms Eppinga was caught “attempting to steal drugs” from a medicine cabinet, only to then launch into a rant filled with a “range of vile and racist profanities” when confronted.

Ms Eppinga told the court she denied trying to steal drugs, but that the real reason for the dispute and that she was kicked out of the clinic was that she had raised concerns about the vet clinic’s “hygiene standards”.

Ellie Eppinga (with a cat) has been involved in a four-year legal suit with Beacon Hills Vet Clinic, where she did 30 minutes work experience in 2019. Picture: Facebook

What was not in dispute was that just hours after her brief stint at the vet came to an end, the TAFE student began a campaign to get the vet clinic “shut down and prosecuted”, using Facebook to launch a vigorous attack and then calling the RSPCA, Dee Why Police Station and then NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian.

“This morning I went to what I thought was going to be valuable work experience, at Beacon Hill Vet Clinic, which turns out is run by a real life monster,” Ms Eppinga’s Facebook post, tendered to court, began.

She went on to describe what she claimed were the “extremely unhygienic and hazardous areas” where the animals were being kept and treated, before vowing to “stop … this vile man and his brainwashed sidekick”.

A day later she took to a local northern beaches group to continue her Facebook posts against the clinic.

“Please please please I just did some work experience at Beacon Hill Vet and their standards are absolutely disgusting and the vet actually assaulted me out of the clinic when I asked about the standards they set,” it read.

The court heard that when Ms Eppinga’s relative commented urging her to press charges against Dr Kalil, she replied: “The police are on the fkn Muslims side it baffles me!”

The Facebook posts led to Ms Eppinga being sued by the vet clinic workers for defamation, leading the two sides through the NSW District Court. Dr Kalil and Ms Eather eventually discontinued the defamation suit.

Ms Eppinga launched a cross-claim against Dr Kalil and Ms Eather over a Facebook post the Beacon Hill Veterinary Clinic had made in its defence after her initial rant.

A row between Ms Eppinga and Beacon Hills Veterinary Hospital chief vet Dr Mahmoud Kalil has led to a four-year battle in the NSW courts. Picture: David Swift

In that post the vet outlined their claims about Ms Eppinga being “caught red-handed” as she tried to “steal drugs” from the clinic’s medicine cabinet.

The court also heard how Ms Eppinga’s post and a Change.org petition had led to a sudden drop in the vet clinic’s Google ratings and a drop in business.

Judge Robert Weber SC oversaw the matter in the NSW District Court earlier this year and last week found in favour of the veterinary clinic.

Judge Weber ruled Ms Eppinga was not as credible a witness as Ms Eather. Dr Kalil did not give evidence.

“Ms Eppinga refused to accept that she had made a public attack on Dr Kalil,” Judge Weber ruled.

“In fact the proposition that Ms Eppinga was attacking Dr Kalil in her posts, could scarcely be gainsaid (denied).”

Judge Weber ruled that Ms Eppinga pay the court costs for Dr Kalil and Ms Eather, but the court battle will continue after the vet clinic pair made an application for indemnity costs order – which could see them paid more money.

Dr Kalil and Ms Eather’s veteran solicitor Barrie Goldsmith said the case was the most wild he had covered in three decades.

“I have specialised in it (defamation law) more than 30 years … I have given many interviews on radio and television, (I have) never seen anything like this,” Mr Goldsmith told The Daily Telegraph.

“It is a poor reflection on how the legal system is designed to operate and does operate.”

Originally published as How 30 minutes of work experience at a vet led to “racist” row and a four-year court battle