Happy Thursday on a short Labor Day holiday week, everybody!
Today’s post is a reprint of a "blurb" I did for a colleague’s newsletter this week. My colleague, Luc Schelstraete, is a top-notch equine attorney practicing in the Netherlands and his firm is called European Equine Lawyers. Luc and I are pictured below at the "Poco Bueno" brand clothing booth at the Americana 2011 trade show in Augsburg, Germany.
There is no federal law in the United States that uniformly governs documentation and disclosure requirements for horse sales. Only three U.S. states have enacted statutes specific to horse sale documentation and disclosure requirements (California, Florida, and Kentucky).
In general, the horse sale statutes in California, Florida, and Kentucky [click hyperlinks to view statute / rules] all require the following for most private treaty horse sales:
1) A written bill of sale that is a) signed by both parties, and b) sets forth the purchase price for the horse;
2) Written disclosure to both purchaser and seller of sales commissions in an amount or value of $500 or more; and
3) Written consent by both purchaser and seller if someone is acting as a dual agent (i.e. a sales agent for both the buyer and the seller of the horse).
The penalties for failure to comply with these statutes can be harsh (i.e. “treble damages”). Determining which state’s law might apply to an international horse sale involving a buyer or seller in the United States might be tricky for a party based in Europe.
Due to these concerns, parties to all international horse sales involving a party in the United States would be well advised to at least comply with points 1-3 above and further stipulate in writing which state or country’s law will apply in the event of a dispute arising from the horse sale.
Parties are further advised to review Florida’s rules carefully if they might apply to a sale. Florida’s rules contain more extensive requirements for horse sale documentation and disclosures than those found in Kentucky and California’s statutes."
As a P.S., don’t forget that tomorrow (September 9) is the deadline to nominate blogs for the "ABA Best 100 Law Blogs" and I’d appreciate your vote. See my bleg from August 11 for more info!
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