Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Howard E. Bailey v. Richard E. West case brief

Bailey v. West case brief summary
249 A.2d 414

SYNOPSIS:
Plaintiff farm owner filed an action against defendant horse owner seeking the reasonable value of his services rendered in connection with four years of feeding, care, and maintenance of a race horse. The superior court rendered a decision for the farm owner for his cost of boarding the horse for five months and for certain expenses. The farm owner appealed, and the horse owner filed a cross appeal.

OVERVIEW: The horse buyer bought a race horse and discovered the horse was lame. The seller refused to accept the return of the horse, and the driver delivered the horse to the farm owner's farm. The horse remained there until the farm owner sold the horse to a third party. The farm owner sent monthly bills to the horse buyer, who disclaimed ownership of the horse.

HOLDING:
The court held that the trial court erred in finding a contract implied in fact between the parties because there was no mutual agreement.

ANALYSIS:
-The court stressed that the farm owner knew from the time the horse was delivered to him that there was a dispute as to its ownership; the farm owner's actions indicated that he did not know with whom, if anyone, he had a contract; neither the horse buyer nor the trainer had ever had any business transactions with the farm owner; and the trainer had instructed the driver that the horse buyer would not be responsible for boarding the horse on any farm.
-The court rejected the farm owner's argument that there was a quasi-contract, finding instead that the farm owner was a mere volunteer who boarded the horse at his own risk and with full knowledge that he might not be reimbursed for his expenses.

OUTCOME: The court denied and dismissed the farm owner's appeal and sustained the horse buyer's cross appeal. The court remanded the action for entry of judgment for the horse buyer.

---
Interested in learning how to get the top grades in your law school classes? Want to learn how to study smarter than your competition? Interested in transferring to a high ranked school?


-->

No comments:

Post a Comment

The Evolution of Legal Marketing: From Billboards to Digital Leads

https://www.pexels.com/photo/coworkers-talking-outside-4427818/ Over the last couple of decades, the face of legal marketing has changed a l...