Legal Question in Civil Litigation in Indiana

Re: Conversion of ownership

A gift is a gift is a gift. if the horse was a gift and you can prove it, then you would own it. However, there are a lot of facts missing from your question, which if known, could reenforce your case against the other person. For example, you indicate that the horse was boarded as your property - how do you know that? Do the records where the horse was boarded reflect that, or is it just something you heard? When the horse was given to you, was it done in the presence of other people who can corroborate that. If not, was there other evidence intending the horse as a gift, such as a card, poen or some other writing. These are the types of facts that would show that the horse was a gift to you. It is also important to know why the individual changed his mind - did the two of you have a parting of the ways; were you boyfriend/girlfriend and have broken up since then; did the individual present you with the gift in hopes of winning you over, but that failed and now he/she does not want to go through with the gift; is there a number of years between the giver and you (i.e., could a trier of fact infer that one of you was overreaching; could a trier of fact find that you had undue influence on the giver, therefore the gift was not really the giver's intent but was coerced into declaring the horse as a gift, etc. This is a case that is fact sensitive - the more corroborating evidence you can find the better.

You also indicate that the horse is not paid for. Do you know whether the seller has kept a security interest in the horse, which might not leave you with much if the giver defaults on paying the horse off and the seller reposses it. Also, you indicate that you are training the horse, which is increasing its value - why are you doing that? If you are employed by the giver, you may not have any choice but to train the horse, regardless of the outcome. Also, if you are employed by someone else, who was hired to oversee the training, you could be putting your job in jeopardy if you fight this as your employer may not look kindly to this sort of friendship between customers and employees.

Re: Conversion of ownership

Here are a few ideas to consider: (1) It is a gift which requires no title registration; (2) If you can prove the value of the training, boarding, grooming etc. then you should be able to recover the reasonable value in order to avoid the other person being "unjustly enriched" If you are interested in a more in-depth review please call me at 882-9799