Legal Question in Civil Litigation in South Dakota

Being sued for theft of deer horns

We own a meat locker. We had some deer horns stolen from our posession that were a customers. He is suing us for $10,000. We were to process his deer, and cape it for mounting. We notified him of the theft, and he was very upset. Our lawyer recommends that we offer $1000. How can you put a value on these? What do you think we should offer to stay out of court? We know that deer horns have a market value of $18-22 per set. This would be $6 per lb. We understand that he does have a case against us, but what would be the correct amount to offer? Our insurance figured they would pay double the amount of a head mount, but it is not mounted. This would be about $700. Our lawyer compares this to a family heir loom. What do you think of that? You can put an amount on a family heir loom if it is an antique. I feel we are being screwed. We thought we would offer a free processing and $100 to cover lisence. What do you think? We have 12 days to come back with an amount. We have no leads in the theft. The guy has a history of problems with money. Right now he is selling all his farm equipment. His 1.4 million farm is now only worth 400,000 plus. Thank you for your time.


Asked on 3/03/05, 11:31 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Todd Epp Abourezk & Epp Law Offices

Re: Being sued for theft of deer horns

You should be asking your attorney these questions and trust his or her judgment. The fact that you posted your questions here could mean several things, such as you do not have a good relationship with your attorney or the two of you are not communicating as you should be as attorney and client. The best advice I can give you is to sit down with your attorney and consider his or her advice. If you are unhappy with your attorney, then get another attorney. However, it sounds to me from your posting that your current attorney is attempting to inform you in a professional and reasonable manner. Perhaps you are just not liking what you are hearing from your lawyer?

Good luck in resolving your case.

Best regards,

Todd D. Epp, Esq.

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Answered on 3/09/05, 9:23 am


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