Deposit money on sale

[PTRALX]

Hello and thanks in advance for any advice.

I'm currently involved in a minor disagreement in the failed sale of a horse. A women wanted to buy a horse that my wife had for sale. She viewed some video tapes of the horse and talked with my wife on the phone, she liked the horse and claimed she wanted to buy it. A price was agreed upon and we also agreed to deliver the horse to her for an additional fee. She sent us $500 as a deposit - no contracts or written agreements were created, however the verbal agreement was that if the horse failed a Vet check the money would be refunded and if she choose not to buy it there would be a partial refund (too vague of course) My wife spent a lot of time with her on the phone helped her make her plane and lodging reservation and picked her up at the airport. The horse passed the Vet check. The deal fell through when we told her that we would not deliver until the weather improved (delivery involved a 500 mile drive from the California coast to the mountains of Arizona and it was about March 1st) which we estimated at about 3-4 week and we would have to charge her board for that period. The lady threw a tantrum that a 3 year old would be proud of and left saying she didn't want the horse.

We refunded her half of the $500. Her husband in now claiming that they will sue us for the other $250. He is also claiming that the deposit check had "deposit fully refundable" written on it - which my wife doesn't recall. This contradicts the prior verbal agreement.

We will pay them if we have to but I think we've been very reasonable and upheld our end of the deal. What are our options and where do we stand legally.

Thank you.

P

 

[I AM ALWAYS LIABLE]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by PTRALX:
Hello and thanks in advance for any advice.

I'm currently involved in a minor disagreement in the failed sale of a horse. A women wanted to buy a horse that my wife had for sale. She viewed some video tapes of the horse and talked with my wife on the phone, she liked the horse and claimed she wanted to buy it. A price was agreed upon and we also agreed to deliver the horse to her for an additional fee. She sent us $500 as a deposit - no contracts or written agreements were created, however the verbal agreement was that if the horse failed a Vet check the money would be refunded and if she choose not to buy it there would be a partial refund (too vague of course) My wife spent a lot of time with her on the phone helped her make her plane and lodging reservation and picked her up at the airport. The horse passed the Vet check. The deal fell through when we told her that we would not deliver until the weather improved (delivery involved a 500 mile drive from the California coast to the mountains of Arizona and it was about March 1st) which we estimated at about 3-4 week and we would have to charge her board for that period. The lady threw a tantrum that a 3 year old would be proud of and left saying she didn't want the horse.

We refunded her half of the $500. Her husband in now claiming that they will sue us for the other $250. He is also claiming that the deposit check had "deposit fully refundable" written on it - which my wife doesn't recall. This contradicts the prior verbal agreement.

We will pay them if we have to but I think we've been very reasonable and upheld our end of the deal. What are our options and where do we stand legally.

Thank you.

P<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

My response:

If you are basing your breach of the oral contract on the theory of "impossibility of performance" due to weather conditions in California, then you'd be, and are, wrong. You had no right to hold her horse hostage for the reasons given, and on top of that, charge for Board when there was no agreement for that in the first place. It makes no difference that you took on all the extra work of making reservations, etc. You did that of your own volition. If inclement weather in California was a viable excuse, business in California would come to a virtual standstill - - but we all know that's not the case. And yes, I'm in Southern California.

Pay the lady. You breached the contract.

IAAL


------------------
By reading the “Response” to your question or comment, you agree that: The opinions expressed herein by "I AM ALWAYS LIABLE" are designed to provide educational information only and are not intended to, nor do they, offer legal advice. Opinions expressed to you in this site are not intended to, nor does it, create an attorney-client relationship, nor does it constitute legal advice to any person reviewing such information. No electronic communication with "I AM ALWAYS LIABLE," on its own, will generate an attorney-client relationship, nor will it be considered an attorney-client privileged communication. You further agree that you will obtain your own attorney's advice and counsel for your questions responded to herein by "I AM ALWAYS LIABLE."

 

[PTRALX]

Not to beat a dead horse......

We agreed to deliver the horse for $300 instead of the $500 a professional would charge. It was also stated at that time that the delivery would be at "our conveniece". The main obsticle in the delivery was that the location in Arizona was in the mountains and snow was common during the winter storms. Our tow vehicle is not equiped for the snow.

We offered her to let her have the horse professionally delivered and we could split the $200 difference or we could deliver the horse to the base of the mountain and they could arrange transportion from there.

If we were to deliver it would be as soon as we felt it safe to deliver, but no more than 3-4 weeks.

 

[Tracey]

Let him sue. Do you really think he will travel from AZ to CA multiple times just to get $250 from you? If he's stupid enough to spend more on travel than he can get for the suit, AND he manages to win, write him a check at the end of the trial and laugh all the way home.

BTW, it appears to me that you shouldn't have refunded ANY of the money. The deposit was for the sale, subject to a vet check, which the horse passed. Writing "deposit fully refundable" does not give the buyers the right to unilaterally breach the sale agreement -- it only applies if the horse fails the vet check. (That's my argument and I'm sticking to it!)

You had a separate contract for delivering the horse when the weather allowed. You should have kept the entire $500 to cover your costs in keeping the horse until you found another buyer who would pay the same price. You can't sue for breach, since you had an oral contract for an amount over $500. Such contracts are unenforceable under the statute of frauds.

Future advice: Hire a lawyer to draft generic sales contracts for you that list the circumstances under which the buyer can back out and when they get their deposit back. Make delivery a separate clause.

Alternatively, download a sales contract from the 'lectric law library and customize it for your needs. Here's one: http://www.lectlaw.com/forms/f124.txt


Good luck,
Tracey

------------------
This is not legal advice and you are not my client. Double check everything with your own attorney and your state's laws.

[This message has been edited by Tracey (edited April 18, 2000).]