vxf111 has actually been EXTREMELY patient in trying to explain the complaint to people. I lost patience with it a long time ago. Despite what people might think, lawyers don’t really always enjoy spending their free time explaining to lay people lawsuits in which they are not involved.
And, yes, as has already been pointed out multiple times, the vet IS being sued. There are things that are difficult to understand about the complaint, but that’s not really one of them.
[QUOTE=AlexS;7024508]
So put me down for not understanding and then don’t get it yourself. High five.
Please someone explain why this case is not against the vet. The horse was sold
‘as is’. It seems a lot of info is based on what the vet knew but wasn’t released. Surely that’s on the vet, if they are paying, they are the client.[/QUOTE]
What?
Alex S, put in the time and read the complaint as did vxf111 and several others of us.
The source of vxf111’s confusion is not in her being a doofus, but in an ornate and badly-written complaint. She has nothing to apologize for, nor is she being a hypocrite.
As to your question about laying the blame at the feet of the vet: The plaintiff did include the vet; he’s getting sued along with her agent. The “agent” part of this case is about what responsibility they had when they either 1) conveyed info from the vet to the buyer and weren’t thorough or honest; and 2) Even if the buyer and vet conferred directly, what recommendations the agent made about buying the pony with whatever flaws the PPE report showed.
I’m not sure I have summarized that all well. It’s a synopis of what I remember reading in that long-a$$ complaint. The point is that Heritage Farm and the PPE vet/his practice are both being sued, and that part of the question is about which of those experts hired by the buyer didn’t do their job.
I don’t think Kit could have thought that Heritage was the buyer because he must have been billing the buyers directly. No where on Heritage’s invoices are there vet bills or a bill for a PPE. Just saying and in my experience the folder always gets sent to whoever is paying the bills. Kit Miller has a stellar reputation and I really don’t he would miss a rotation on the x-ray. The only thing I can think of is that he is great at managing things and possibly and I really mean a remote possibly he thought it was something that could be managed or that wouldn’t affect the pony. As I said though he has failed many horses for me and others for far less. That said I also know of several horses that others have passed on that have ended up at Heritage. Who knows what information he shared with Heritage and what information was shared with him. While one horse might fail a PPE for me based on what job and future I want the horse to have, another person might think it’s a fair risk to take. For example a top hunter professional is very successful with a horse that my friend, her student passed on after the PPE. The horse was sound at the PPE, but had some bad Xrays at only 4 years old. My friend couldn’t afford for things to go badly so she passed. Her trainer found someone who could afford to take the risk and so far the horse has been super. Who knows what Kit told Heritage and what was told to Kit!
The vet has an answer to the complaint and it is posted on Rate My Horse PRO.
This is from a July 1st,2012 Invoice:
Other Charges
2 Acrylic Scrim 365.55 731.10T
2 Wool Dress Sheet 434.45 868.90T
2 Rain Sheets 351.95 703.90T
3 Cotton Sheets 272.50 817.50T
3 Winter Blanket 529.95 1,589.85T
This won’t appear properly on COTH, but where in the world does one find Cotton Sheets that cost $272.50 each, or Acrylic Scrims that cost $365.55 each. And why are they buying winter blankets for $529.95 each in JUNE or JULY?
Are they having these blankets made by tailors in Europe? These blankets must be custom made for each pony after several fittings to cost that much. Maybe they ordered the winter blankets in June or July because the fitter was there? This, from my perspective, is a total waste of money.
I’m completely shocked at the apparent client gouging.
Some barns make you buy the brand they have, and in their colors. So each horse you bring or add gets a whole new set of everything.
Nevermind; found the link I was looking for! Could someone with more legal knowledge than myself summarize the vet’s response in more understandable terms? 
Thanks in advance!
[QUOTE=vineyridge;7025134]
This is from a July 1st,2012 Invoice:
Other Charges
2 Acrylic Scrim 365.55 731.10T
2 Wool Dress Sheet 434.45 868.90T
2 Rain Sheets 351.95 703.90T
3 Cotton Sheets 272.50 817.50T
3 Winter Blanket 529.95 1,589.85T
This won’t appear properly on COTH, but where in the world does one find Cotton Sheets that cost $272.50 each, or Acrylic Scrims that cost $365.55 each. And why are they buying winter blankets for $529.95 each in JUNE or JULY?
Are they having these blankets made by tailors in Europe? These blankets must be custom made for each pony after several fittings to cost that much. Maybe they ordered the winter blankets in June or July because the fitter was there? This, from my perspective, is a total waste of money.
I’m completely shocked at the apparent client gouging.[/QUOTE]
I believe Heritage uses Clothes Horse?! http://www.theclotheshorse.com/ though I can’t jive all those prices with what’s on the Clothes Horse site, even assuming all the custom options. Even with lots of upgrades, those prices seem high. I guess you could get there if ALL the items ordered had a whole bunch of embroidery, custom trim, etc.
Ironically, I once had a minor grumble about a charge (NJ sales tax on an item I was prepared to have shipped to PA) and CH sort of brushed it off. As part of her reasoning to me she pointed out that she does all kinds of work for Heritage (that’s the only barn/client that was namedropped) and those clients live in NY and happily pay NJ sales tax without complaint. Setting aside how I felt about that explanation… I guess perhaps now we see why. In a world in which you’re being upcharged on everything… what’s a little sales tax on top?!
And one assumes that, given the amount of business The Clothes Horse would get from Heritage, Heritage gets a price break from the get-go.
The Clothes Horse Winter Parka, made to measure, is $379.00. That’s a deal, compared to the Rambo Optimo.
[QUOTE=vineyridge;7025179]
And one assumes that, given the amount of business The Clothes Horse would get from Heritage, Heritage gets a price break from the get-go.[/QUOTE]
I don’t know that I’d assume that?! I mean, I was quibbling over tax w/CH (then again, I’m not Heritage-- the exact point I was trying to make in the quibble ;)). Even if Heritage got a break, it was probably in the form of kickback freebies for their own horses rather than a flat discount for Heritage clients? And even if they did get a discount, who’s to say it was passed along to clients?
I don’t find all the line items as shocking as some people seem to. If you want to and can afford to buy a $272 cotton sheet-- good for you. I can’t, but I don’t begrudge people who can. It’s not the price in the abstract tht seems odd… it’s that all the prices seem to have weird built in upcharges.
It wouldn’t irk me to pay top dollar for fancy stuff. What would irk me would be to find out that the barn upcharged me for the item when all it took was a 5 minute call to Clothes Horse to say “you know our standard Heritage show package? We need two more, one in a size 57 and one in a 63.” I dunno whether that’s what happened or not, but some of these prices do seem a little odd.
[QUOTE=leyla25;7023342]
I saw them at Old Salem training with Timmy Keys. Not sure if the pony is boarding with them but I think so.[/QUOTE]
Above is the response (#347) to the question “where is Joey now?”.
This either can’t be true or someone (the owner) is really nuts. The complaint filed by PO says the poor thing is useless for everything you can think of, and the RMHP intro says the pony is retired.
[QUOTE=2tempe;7025195]
Above is the response (#347) to the question “where is Joey now?”.
This either can’t be true or someone (the owner) is really nuts. The complaint filed by PO says the poor thing is useless for everything you can think of, and the RMHP intro says the pony is retired.[/QUOTE]
Couldn’t they still be boarding the pony at their show barn even if the pony is retired? I know I couldn’t afford to do that, but I think they’re in a much different financial league than most of us.
Yes I agree the pony could be boarded at a show barn, but the post said pony was seen “training” with Timmy Keys. That’s what caught my eye.
[QUOTE=vineyridge;7025179]
And one assumes that, given the amount of business The Clothes Horse would get from Heritage, Heritage gets a price break from the get-go.
The Clothes Horse Winter Parka, made to measure, is $379.00. That’s a deal, compared to the Rambo Optimo.[/QUOTE]
Except the Parka is a stable blanket, the Optimo is a turnout.
The vet asks for the pony’s whereabouts from before purchase to now. He asks for pretty much anything we could think of in his answer to the complaint.
This suit is going to get hashed over and over until they either settle or go to court.
At first I thought I was envious of all that money being spent for a pony. Then I realized I’m actually completely content with my $1 horse hacking out in the fields behind the farm.
Although I’d happily spend $700 on a Jimmy’s bridle if I had extra disposable income lazing around :o
Because they were on sale ?
[QUOTE=vineyridge;7025134]
This won’t appear properly on COTH, but where in the world does one find Cotton Sheets that cost $272.50 each, or Acrylic Scrims that cost $365.55 each. And why are they buying winter blankets for $529.95 each in JUNE or JULY?[/QUOTE]
So you have everything for when it first starts to get cold in the northeast? Because custom stuff takes longer than a week to get to you?
I am not shocked that a new pony gets a full “show set” when it comes to the barn, regardless of the season. That in vacuum does not seem unusual to me.
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