G
gwyn
Guest
What is the name of your state? Florida
i am a 23 yr old single mom. feb 2000, when i was a working student for my trainer at her barn in the west palm area, a horse that she advised me to aquire (in a trade for my horse that was no longer appropriate), allegedly kicked one of her other working students, who was also a friend of mine. i had only owned the horse for 3 wks at the time, and was still getting to know him. the trainer knew the horse very well, and this girl also knew him well, and had ridden and shown him many times previously, and loved him so much that she also encouraged me to aquire him so she could ride, train, and show him for me, to increase his value, as she was the more experienced rider at the time. the trainer thought this was a great idea. (the girl has very wealthy family, but they were curtailing her funds and activities as she had gotten very poor grades her first semester away at UCF due to extreme partying, and was known to be very promiscuious, and use drugs and alchohol. she was even kicked out of the barn for a while for these reason. her parents had her back at home to go to local community college and work, and would not buy her a horse to ride.) for many years this girl has ridden and shown horses for many people, sometimes even for money, which actually qualifies her as a professional in the horse industry. she has handled stallions, young, untrained horses, difficult horses etc. she knows the safety precautions to observe around all horses, and has had her share of injuries, including kicks from horses. she has also been known to have a short fuse at times with the horses, and sometimes has been observed provoking them and being "rough". at the time of the incident, she was alone at the barn, and was found on ground holding her head, and stated that my horse had kicked her in the head. (won't go into what she claimed led up to it, or what i believe happened thru evidence, and what witnesses have confirmed) when we arrived, she was alert and trainer took her to er for stitches on forehead. (no other medical attention required) she returmed later and was laughing about incident. she did not appear to hold horse or anyone responsible at the time. she showed no fear of horse, and rode him less than 2 weeks later and went on to ride and jump and show him untill he was sold almost a yr later. (have video and witnesses to this) she resumed all her reg activity, partying, school, work, and riding many horses. in june 2000 i left to start my own horse business in orlando area and she came there to my leased barn(while she worked and went to school) to ride the horse untill it sold. i even paid her a large commission after it sold. she never mentioned the incident, except in joking way. then she started to have money and school problems again, and in the summer of 2001 i recieved a legal document that she was sueing me for negligence for my horse kicking her. she said he was known to be dangerous and viscious(not true), and that i knew that and should have warned her(she knew him better than i), trained him to be safe(she was training him at time), and kept him safely away from others etc. she wanted $15,000 b/c she couldn't work or go to school or do any of normal life activities b/c of this injury.(there is much proof to the contrary). she was also suing several other people...the trainer, owner of property, and previous owner of horse b/f me. i responded with legal document and heard no more untill late spring 2002 with notice of suit naming now just myself and previous owner. i contacted legal aid in west palm area as that is where it is being filed, and was referred to a lawyer there, who was very interested in taking case. i did explain that i had almost NO money. all i owned was a horse that i gave to my mom in exchange for her putting the $1500 on her credit card for the retainer fee for lawyer. my lawyer joined up with the previous owners lawyers hired by her insurance( i was not personally insured. nor was the horse), and shedid try to keep costs down. but now the retainer is gone, and she has sent a bill for $500, plus a contract for new retainer, and a contract for payment to a person taking a deposition soon. i get the impression that all the defense lawyers want the case to go to trial b/c they think it is a slam dunk. either way, i lose. i have no money to continue my defense, and have no way to get any. i have no credit, no assets, no car, no house, property etc. (my son is on medicaid.) my stepfather was out of work for 2 yrs and just got hit by a drunk driver, and so my family has no funds or credit to help any more either. and i have no family or clients that can help. i have told the lawyers this, but they do not seem to understand. i said i will pay the $500 in whatever tiny amounts per month i can manage, but i can't sign any more contracts. HELP! what do i do, and what are the potential repercussions to me, my son, and my business?
i am a 23 yr old single mom. feb 2000, when i was a working student for my trainer at her barn in the west palm area, a horse that she advised me to aquire (in a trade for my horse that was no longer appropriate), allegedly kicked one of her other working students, who was also a friend of mine. i had only owned the horse for 3 wks at the time, and was still getting to know him. the trainer knew the horse very well, and this girl also knew him well, and had ridden and shown him many times previously, and loved him so much that she also encouraged me to aquire him so she could ride, train, and show him for me, to increase his value, as she was the more experienced rider at the time. the trainer thought this was a great idea. (the girl has very wealthy family, but they were curtailing her funds and activities as she had gotten very poor grades her first semester away at UCF due to extreme partying, and was known to be very promiscuious, and use drugs and alchohol. she was even kicked out of the barn for a while for these reason. her parents had her back at home to go to local community college and work, and would not buy her a horse to ride.) for many years this girl has ridden and shown horses for many people, sometimes even for money, which actually qualifies her as a professional in the horse industry. she has handled stallions, young, untrained horses, difficult horses etc. she knows the safety precautions to observe around all horses, and has had her share of injuries, including kicks from horses. she has also been known to have a short fuse at times with the horses, and sometimes has been observed provoking them and being "rough". at the time of the incident, she was alone at the barn, and was found on ground holding her head, and stated that my horse had kicked her in the head. (won't go into what she claimed led up to it, or what i believe happened thru evidence, and what witnesses have confirmed) when we arrived, she was alert and trainer took her to er for stitches on forehead. (no other medical attention required) she returmed later and was laughing about incident. she did not appear to hold horse or anyone responsible at the time. she showed no fear of horse, and rode him less than 2 weeks later and went on to ride and jump and show him untill he was sold almost a yr later. (have video and witnesses to this) she resumed all her reg activity, partying, school, work, and riding many horses. in june 2000 i left to start my own horse business in orlando area and she came there to my leased barn(while she worked and went to school) to ride the horse untill it sold. i even paid her a large commission after it sold. she never mentioned the incident, except in joking way. then she started to have money and school problems again, and in the summer of 2001 i recieved a legal document that she was sueing me for negligence for my horse kicking her. she said he was known to be dangerous and viscious(not true), and that i knew that and should have warned her(she knew him better than i), trained him to be safe(she was training him at time), and kept him safely away from others etc. she wanted $15,000 b/c she couldn't work or go to school or do any of normal life activities b/c of this injury.(there is much proof to the contrary). she was also suing several other people...the trainer, owner of property, and previous owner of horse b/f me. i responded with legal document and heard no more untill late spring 2002 with notice of suit naming now just myself and previous owner. i contacted legal aid in west palm area as that is where it is being filed, and was referred to a lawyer there, who was very interested in taking case. i did explain that i had almost NO money. all i owned was a horse that i gave to my mom in exchange for her putting the $1500 on her credit card for the retainer fee for lawyer. my lawyer joined up with the previous owners lawyers hired by her insurance( i was not personally insured. nor was the horse), and shedid try to keep costs down. but now the retainer is gone, and she has sent a bill for $500, plus a contract for new retainer, and a contract for payment to a person taking a deposition soon. i get the impression that all the defense lawyers want the case to go to trial b/c they think it is a slam dunk. either way, i lose. i have no money to continue my defense, and have no way to get any. i have no credit, no assets, no car, no house, property etc. (my son is on medicaid.) my stepfather was out of work for 2 yrs and just got hit by a drunk driver, and so my family has no funds or credit to help any more either. and i have no family or clients that can help. i have told the lawyers this, but they do not seem to understand. i said i will pay the $500 in whatever tiny amounts per month i can manage, but i can't sign any more contracts. HELP! what do i do, and what are the potential repercussions to me, my son, and my business?