I have been trying to keep my mouth shut & refraining from posting on this thread again but I gotta say it-- we all tried to tell her. I’m grateful there are so many kind hearts in Fl. though, that can actually go check on him. If someone shows up on their doorstep they may actually start taking her seriously. What a mess.
Maybe they will actually be scared enough to wire the money for him today… At this point, that is the ONLY acceptable solution for them, or put him on the trailer home Today. sheesh
I’d think you have to be careful sending people out to “check on him” though so that you don’t border on harassment. That’s a very thin line that’s easily crossed…
I wondered too how to approach these people…I don’t think that I would go there without a Deputy to insure my own safety. One never knows these days!!
I think that might be the best route…with the owner contacting the local dept and saying that she is sending a personal representative to pick up her funds or take the horse. An Ag deputy would be the one to go…
Waiting to hear the latest this evening…
Haven’t we’ve seen posts on other threads saying that law enforcement won’t get involved in a situation like this without a court order of some kind? or a formal charge of theft? that in general they consider an ownership dispute to be a civil matter?
(I have seen posts on netposse.com about reported thefts that are other cases of sales gone bad.)
At this point, I’d say you’ve done everything you can to convince your friend that what she did was idiotic. I’d cut her loose to fend for herself now. The Florida Cothers are, I’m sure, very well-intentioned, but this girl has dug her own hole and she needs to deal with it all by herself like a grown-up.
That’s correct, there are some hoops to jump thru before you can file anything against them.
The certified demand letter (and I KNOW she verbally extended until the 15th) gives them a firm deadline and that clock starts legally ticking the instant they sign for it. If they refuse it, it still constitutes notification and creates a written record. You have to start there.
So far, in all honesty, friend has not made any demands at all and has agreed with everything they have proposed. Plus there is nothing in writing I fear. That can be fixed right now with that letter.
She does have their street address? Not a PO box #?
Wow.
I agree with everyone else who says that this horse needs to be visited NOW. I had a buyer’s trainer dick me around this summer for 3 weeks - “A checks’ in the mail, etc”. Never happened. I had a friend of mine in the area find out what barn the horse was at (he had been picked up at the trainer’s place and taken to this other barn), went and visited him, and I showed up with a trailer 2 hours later. Never called the trainer (who happened to be away at a horse show) - just told the BO that I was there to pick up my horse.
Fingers crossed that the horse is still where he is said to be, and that he hasn’t been injured, or worse!!
I don’t know about Florida law, but calling the police will probably result in a response of “that’s a civil matter and you need to contact an attorney.” I know as a LEO, I’m not going to touch the matter unless I have a court order in handing telling me to assist or seize the horse in question.
From what I have read, this has been a verbal contract with conditions that have been changed numerous times by both sides. There is a remote possibility that a charge of Obtaining property by False Pretense could be lodged, but again, one would have to be able to prove the intent to deceive etc. and I really think this is indeed a civil matter (breach of contract) rather than criminal. And the simple matter is that even if they did lodge the charge (usually a felony), it’s not a serious enough charge that the DA’s office would approve extradition over the matter. Yes, it’s serious to us, but I just don’t see the DA’s office taking it that far. It would be a matter of taking out the warrants, and then if the people show up in the owner’s state, then they would arrest and go forward. Extradition costs a good bit of money and I just don’t see it happening in this case.
There is also a question as to jurisdiction here as well, most of the contacts were made via phone/emails etc. But since the owner of the horse (I forget now which state she was in) is not in the state where the horse was shipped to, the legal papers would need to be drawn up in the state where she conducted the transaction, and then sent to Florida. In other words, you’ve got a long distance mess.
Many people do however, respond to strongly worded letters from attorneys. It might pay the girl to go ahead and have such a letter drafted and sent. If nothing else, the letter needs to be done to establish documentation and a time line as to deadlines, demands, expectations etc. If payment was demanded by Jan 15th, and it hasn’t been made, then that can be documented and later presented as evidence. You can never have too much documentation.
But by all means, I would take up the offer of fellow COTHer’s to check up on the horse. Meanwhile, I would be arranging for a trailer and transportation to go and get my horse. If I didn’t have the cash in my hot little hand shortly, that horse would be coming home. I’d be in quick and fast. Since no money has changed hands, about the most they could get the original owner for criminally would be trespass…well maybe Breaking and Entering, but considering all the problems with this whole scene, even that one would be a bit iffy.
Good luck. I hope it all works out for the best.
