Equine Law Blog

We are often asked how long a waiver or release “lasts.” The answer depends on several factors, such as:

• Did the document specify that it was only intended to be valid for activities taking place on the day when it was signed?
• Does a state law supply a time limitation during which the document is valid?

Many in the industry have been discussing the Connecticut Supreme Court case of Vendrella v. Astriab Family Limited Partnership. Oral arguments took place recently, and we await an opinion.  

When equine business operators take legal matters into their own hands, problems can occur. Here are some of them:

• The horse seller has a sales agent that advertised the horse online and negotiated a sale to a buyer who is located out of the country. The sales agent, believing promises of the out-of-country buyer that the purchase payment was “in the mail” on the same day that the buyer’s shipper was picking up the horse,  allowed the shipper to haul away the horse. Unfortunately, the seller never sent a payment, but the horse was already out of the country before the buyer discovered the problem.

How to Avoid: In addition to insisting on a carefully worded sales agreement, the seller can insist that the buyer’s payment in full is received and clears the bank before the horse can be shipped away.