This case study demonstrates how Rural Protect settled a legal dispute by providing legal defence for a livery that unknowingly sold an unfit horse and refused to accept an alleged verbal agreement for its return should there be an issue. The livery was able to claim legal expenses through their Rural Protect policy.
Business Type: Livery Stable
Section of Cover: Company Legal Liability
Applicable Cover: Contractual Liability Cover
Circumstance: The purchaser of a horse is alleging anatomic defects and is demanding veterinary reports prior to the sale.
Legal fees value: £23,225
The scenario:
A buyer approached the livery to purchase one of their horses. The livery agreed to the sale and the horse was sold to the buyer for £4,000. Additionally, the livery verbally assured the buyer that the horse could be returned if needed.
What happened?
After the purchase, while the horse was in the buyer’s possession, the buyer suspected something was wrong. A vet confirmed that the horse had spinal issues and was unfit for riding. Based on this discovery, the buyer attempted to return the horse, but the livery refused, despite their alleged prior verbal agreement.
This prompted the buyer to file a claim against the livery, leading to a legal dispute over the horse’s fitness. The buyer also sought damages, aiming not only to recover the purchase price, but also to cover additional costs incurred, such as vet bills.
The outcome:
At the court trial, the judge ruled out the buyer’s claim for additional damages as these were not substantiated. The judge also ordered that the buyer return the horse to the livery in return for the price they paid. Rural protect supported the insured livery with legal defence and compensated £23,225 in legal costs.
Things to consider:
When selling goods commercially, it must be ensured that the terms of the transaction are agreed by both parties and recorded precisely on something physical, such as paper or a digitally signed document. In cases where the purchase terms are laid out in an open-ended manner, such as the one above, it can be very difficult to determine the exact terms of the agreement, leading to potential disputes and legal complications.
Since Rural Protect provides Company Legal Liability, which includes a Contractual Liability Cover extension, the insured livery was able to mitigate the financial impact of the legal dispute.
If you would like to know more about Rural Protect, call us on 01653 609090 or email enquiries@hbunderwriting.co.uk.
