If we recently sold a healthy pup which got sick 2 weeks after and put down, what to do ifbuyer wants to take us to court?
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
If we recently sold a healthy pup which got sick 2 weeks after and put down, what to do ifbuyer wants to take us to court?
We recently sold a 9 week old pup, fully vet checked with vaccinations, and 3 weeks after we received a letter from the buyer’s vet stating pup came in sick. It gave 6 possible causes, only 2 pf which had a small chance of coming from us; the buyer decided to put it down instead of getting it diagnosed. Now the lady either wants her money back including vet charges or she is taking us to court. Does she have a case or have we done all we need to under our duty of care?
Asked on January 5, 2012 under Business Law, Washington
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
Unless you offered some warranty or guaranty, you'd most likely only be liable if you misrepresented the pup--that is, if you knowingly sold a sick puppy, or lied about the vacinations and other health care it had received.
That said, defending yourself from a lawsuit costs time and money; from what you write, the buyer would almost certainly be able to at least file a lawsuit against you, since it's plausible that you knew something was wrong if the pupppy became ill so quickly after the sale; therefore, even if you believe you'd win at the end of the day, you may wish to consider trying to settle with her as an alternative to facing litigation.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.