Some of you may have heard me mention my grandma had a lawsuit against her,we went to court last aug. we was hoping they were gonna drop it but she just found out we go back in july. Here is some history,may be long. Grandma has had horses forever and has been boarding forever. She charges 100.00 a month hay included,she helps with appts if you can't be there, fed 2 times a day. Drylot in winter huge... turnout in summer. Barn is nice ,all fed seperate, barn is clean. This women lives about 45 min. away brought her horse here in poor condition,very thin. Long story short during the night the horse broke a wooden fence post and tore its self up pretty good,it was a bad injury. Grandma contacted her and the vet and grandma tended to this wound  for quite sometime. Meanwhile this women come to ride the horse with her young daughter. grandma advised her it needed to heal and she is a nurse duh... After some time grandma asked her to take the horse home,we just had a feeling about this women. Found out she has sued before , she took the horse to a vet in her area when she got home. She had tons of pics to show when she had the horse at her place. I'm sure she did'nt take care of the wound like grandma did. This horse is a reg. qh probably worth 1000-1500 on a good day. I realize this would be upsetting ,however this horse got the best possible care people call grandma if they can't get a vet lol. Basically only thing we have is her boarders now and the past wrote letters to the court, and the vet we had out will probably go to court. If anyone has any thought on things to help her case i would really appreciate it. This has her stressed out and that's hard to see she doesn't deserve this. Thanks for listening.

I don't have any advice, I just wanted to say I'm sorry your grandma is in this horrible situation! Sheesh, some people... :( Hope it all turns out well! Just one more reason I won't board horses for others... too many sue-happy people :(

Jessi

It's sad you can't trust people anymore. She mostly does it because she likes having people around,she's not making money on it.She has 4 boarders right now and they are all very nice but it really scares me, they have worked very hard for every thing they have. I just hope it is over this next time. We was there for several hours and they ran out of time ahhh... Nothing like dragging things out.Thanks..

Take pictures of the fence. Bring boards who have been there for years. You just need to prove that the area was safe and proper care was taken. To win the people need to prove that proper care/unsafe conditions were present.

Can she sue for more than the value of the horse? She is still able to ride the horse. We do have boarders who are going to go.Thanks

Was there a contract involved? Did she have a sign up saying not responsible for accidents? If not she should get both. Anytie money is envolved a contract should be made. And having peoples stuff at your house you are for some reason held liable for it in the owners mind most of the time. If she has pictures of the horse and her facility I would think she is safe. A contract would help though. I would talk to a lawyer. Or maybe a barn near that has boarded for years to see if they have been in that position before. Good luck and I'm sorry this has happened.

My advice is to take tons of pictures! Take them not only of the area where the accident occurred, but take them of the rest of the property as well. Organize the pictures and label them clearly...with dates.

Also, make lists of dates that incidents occurred.

Don't ever think that you are gathering too much information. I have experience, through my occupation, with stupid and frivolous lawsuits and I'm telling you that even when it seems like there's no possible way that you could lose, there's always that jury out there that will feel sorry for the other party and give them thousands! The only ones that get rich off the deal are attorneys. It just doesn't make sense!

 Best of luck!

There was no contracts signed,she does have the equine liability sign hanging on the barn.We are in the process of getting papers for the boarders to sign now. Grandma does have a lawyer,unfortunately the judge has no understanding of horses.Thanks everyone her court date is july 8th i'll let everyone know how things go.

 I am terriblely sorry this is happening to grandma. My prayers are with you. I am nervous because my dad has a boarder, and against my requests to have a signed contract, he does not have one and it worries me. My dad said "we don't need one".  Now she doesn't come over to even drop off check, she mails it, so I can't even get her to sign one now.

I think anyone with good intentions wouldn't hesitate signing anything.Your dad shouldn't feel bad asking her,maybe you can tell him what we are going through. Maybe he could mail a contract to her with a nice note.A friend of ours has a coverall arena that we rode in and we signed a agreement with her and it didn't hurt our feelings one bit. Thanks

Aw, geesh, I just typed a long post and lost it.  I feel strongly enough about this topic I will re-write my response, LOL!

Any person can sue any other person for anything in any amount they choose.  However, that does NOT mean they will win!  I am not an attorney, and I am not providing legal advice, but I do have a knowledge of the judicial system.

The key to any defense is documentation, documentation, documentation.  Verbal testimonies may never be heard.

I suggest your grandmother have the following documentation prepared for the judge's or jury's review:

• How long the boarding facility has been open (and nature and dates of any previous injuries, but don't provide unless petitioner brings before the court)
• Written testimonies from other boarders as to the good care their horses receive and the level of safety at the facility (you can go to ask.com for a format to follow)
• Written testimonies from others who have solicited your grandmother's assistance in healing horses
• Written testimony from the Vet
• A time log of the injury of the horse in question, the resulting phone calls to owner and vet, treatment by vet,  and the daily care your grandmother provided afterwards
• Pictures of the facility and area where the injury occurred (as mentioned by a previous poster)
• Research and provide a written log of the petitioner's other law suits including the dates, nature of suit, and decisions (this may evidence the petitioner is sue happy)
• Written examples of how such a horse accident can occur involving no fault

Then I would suggest your grandmother follow the practices of all other facilities I have experienced in the following ways:

• Obtain written contracts from all boarders (including a non-liability clause)
• Obtain written non-liability disclosures from any observers or riders at the facility who are not boarders
• Get liability insurance

Lastly, my personal opinion is that your grandmother should charge much more for her monthly board, especially if she provides the hay and feeds.  She should be making a profit with such liability.  I've never heard of such low board, even though I know prices vary significantly through the country.

Your grandmother sounds like a wonderful person, so I hope she wins.  Perhaps she can petition the court for reimbursement from the petitioner of court and attorney fees if she wins. 

Your attorney should be providing this advice to you, but he would charge, LOL!

Good Luck!

 Thanks case family. I'll see what I can do to get her to sign one. i had one already made out and copies so that we all had one. Maybe I can get her to sign it when he's not there, but tell him that I'm gonna do it. 

NWB -thanks for the great advice,grandma talked to the lawyer about suing her for court costs and the lawyer advised her not to .I just wish the judge understood more about horses.This women had a individual put 30 days on this horse then she rode it to a gas station in her town,big town,got hit by a car and was gonna sue the trainer because it wasn't rode safe. This was after the cops were called ,and they told her she had no business riding that horse in town. She had her bills at the first court date and in there she had a bill for care of the horse when she went on vacation ,I thought I should bring up the horse would need care whether it was injured or not. Thanks everyone!!

Grandma had court today,i couldn't go this time no one to watch my little one.We had some boarders and my mom plus the guy who had the horse in his care right before it came to our place.The judge has to go over everything and will determine later, I guess we play the waiting game again. I guess the lawyer asked if she had ever been turned in for neglect and she said yes, quite a few times but didn't have to give the horse up. I'm just glad they don't have to go back to court, that is so stressful for them. I'll let everyone know the outcome. Thanks

Waiting sucks, hope it all works out!

Jessi