Legal Question in Civil Litigation in Michigan

Re: Return of deposit

Hello,

The sale of a horse is governed by the Uniform Commercial Code ("UCC") which Michigan has fully adopted. Under the UCC, I would suggest analyzing your case as follows:

1. You offered to sell. It appears that the buyer conditionally offered to buy, subject to inspection. IF NOT, if the buyer unconditionally agreed to buy and you were merely accomodating the buyer's wishes, you may be able to sue for breach of contract, and in any case would probably be able to retain the deposit.

2. If the "acceptance" by the buyer was actually conditioned upon all of the vet checks and other checks agreed to beforehand, then the only question is whether the buyer's revocation of acceptance was reasonable. If it was reasonable - then that was the agreement and you would be required to return the deposit; on the other hand, if it was unreasonable in the eyes of the judge, then the repudiation was not made in good faith and the buyer would have breached their contract of purchase in which case you could keep the deposit, sell the horse, collect as a breach of contract remedy the difference between the proposed selling price and the actual selling price to a third party, and any damages that you suffered as a consequence of the buyer's breach.

3. It appears that the proof is in the report. If the report really doesn't exist, you win. If it does, you probably lose.

4. Any writing (such as a written contract) that spells out the terms of acceptance would, of course, be very helpful.

5. It seems odd that the buyer is suing over $200 . . . not really worth the effort, unless she feels that acting with a preemptive strike will cause you to not focus on the larger issue as to whether she breached the contract and could be liable for greater damages.

Hope this helps.

Tom Weiss

Mt. Pleasant