Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California
former friend almost killed my horse
i temporarily Put my horses at my girlfriends place I supplied the food and fixed fences to make a secure place for them She proceeded to let her daughter ride my 10,000 horse without asking meShe moved my horses to a barn without asking i picked my horses up to move them there was no food i asked where the food i bought was SHE TOLD ME 4 DAYS PRIOR MY HORSE GOT INTO THE GRAIN 75lbs worth when she put them in the barn she dint take the grain out and he ate it all I told her he could of died why didnt you call me and tell me or call a vet she said why he was acting fineIn short my horse foundered, almost died and is going to need months of rehabilitation and ive spent 100's of dollars on vet billsI paid her daughter daily to feed my horses 2 x a day and make sure they had water nothing more.They were not suppose to do anything more with the horse. Do i have legal claim to sue her for the damage to my horse who i compete with, it will be a year before im riding him again. And he will always have problems with his injuries.If she would of notified me,if this would of been treated within the first 12 hours all of this culd of been prevented. shes suppose to be experienced horseman and starting a boarding stable?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: former friend almost killed my horse
Your agreement was an informal one. I suppose you could try to sue on an implied contract theory but I'm not sure how much you want to spend on an attorney to carry-on the lawsuit. My advise to you is to sue in small claims court. That is a less formal venue and you may be able to get some compensation there with minimal cost to you. Good luck-Martin
Re: former friend almost killed my horse
Unless you girl friend has money to pay a judgement, you are probably out of luck. Your best bet is to sue in small claims court.