Legal Question in Business Law in Alaska

Contract Protection

One year ago I bought a horse from a friend at work. He first approached me and said he was giving away his horse to cut costs at home. I told him I would pay 1.00 for the horse and make it a legal sale. I drafted a bill of sale in which we signed and I had a witness sign it as well. I told him that I would have the option to sell the horse back only to him to assure him that I would not turn around and it the horse for a profit and in the event the horse was unmanageable, I would first offer him back to the original owner. This period was for one year from the date of sale. Now, one year later, he has said that he wants to sell the horse!? I advised him that I already bought the horse for 1.00. He said that he didn't read the bill of sale and did not understand that it was a permanent sale. How can I resolve this? Shall I have him take me to court? The bill of sale is very clear. Where do I go from here?


Asked on 6/27/00, 1:22 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Charles Aspinwall Charles S. Aspinwall, J.D., LLC

Re: Contract Protection

Assuming he is of ordinary intelligence and can read/write English, he is bound by his contract. A Bill of Sale is in fact a type of contract if it contains all the terms necessary to tell who does what to whom and for how much.

He is running a bluff, legally, if it has been more than one year since the sale and he did not exercise his first right of repurchase within the year period.

If you are sure of your facts there is really nothing for you to do except wait and see if he follows through.

If you sell the horse you might consider giving him part of the sale proceeds, although you are not legally bound to do this based on the information contained in your post.

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Answered on 9/05/00, 3:18 pm


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