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Stolen Horse International, Inc.
PO Box 1341
Shelby, NC 28151
(704) 484-2165
stolenhorse@netposse.com
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Horse Theft as a "Civil Matter"
Horse Theft as a “Civil Matter”
Written By:
R.L. Adams, L.L.C., Attorney at Law
September 29, 2004
In my equine law
practice, I often provide legal advice to clients who want to
recover a horse from the possession of someone who has taken it
from them, or who refuses to return it to them.
Sometimes the horse has been taken by someone who claims
that they own the horse. Often
the horse is being held by someone claiming that its owner owes
them money. Understandably,
these horse owners often want to file a criminal complaint against
the possessor of the horse with local law enforcement.
After all, in most situations, taking property from its
owner without permission or refusing to return property to its
owner upon demand are known as “stealing,” and people get
arrested for it. Driving up to the barn where their horse is being
kept, with a deputy sheriff who will order that the horse be
returned, is just the kind of quick forceful action these clients
want to take. Unfortunately, in my experience, law enforcement
officials are very reluctant to get involved in situations in
which the ownership or right to possession of a horse are
disputed.
The excuse I
generally hear is, “That’s a civil matter,” meaning that
they are declining to treat the matter as a criminal one in which
a criminal offense has been committed.
What is often missing in such situations is evidence of
criminal intent – that is proof that the possessor of the horse
knows that he or she has no legal right to take or keep the horse.
Without the cooperation of the local sheriff’s department and
district attorney’s office successfully prosecuting a horse
theft as the crime of larceny is practically impossible.
Handling the theft as a civil matter is not a good option
for the victim of horse theft.
It means that the horse owner usually must hire an attorney
to file a legal action (called a “claim and delivery”) in
“civil court” to recover the horse. This procedure is costly,
can take weeks or months to complete, and can require that the
owner post a bond for the value of the horse (or even more).
To maximize the
possibility of being able to convince law enforcement to
investigate the matter as criminal rather than civil horse owners
should plan ahead to ensure they will be able to present law
enforcement with evidence that the person in possession of their
horse did commit a crime and that there is no mistake or legal
right to justify their actions.
Being able to do the following could make the difference.
1.
Prove you own the horse. This means two
things; first being able toconclusively identify the horse you
want to recover as the one which you claim to own, and second,
proving that you are the actual owner of that horse.
Some horses are so unique in appearance, even to non-horse
owners, that there can be no issue about whether you or the owner
of the horse is mistaken as to the identity of the horse.
Others however are generally similar and could reasonably
be mistaken. Freeze
branding, tattooing or implanting a readable magnetic chip can
prevent the possessor of the horse from claiming that you are
mistaken about the identity of the horse or that she took or kept
the horse mistakenly believing it to be her own.
The
best proof of actual ownership is documents, such as a bill of
sale or sales contract which conclusively identifies the horse.
A horse’s breed registration papers (unlike a motor
vehicle title) do not necessarily prove ownership.
Other evidence of ownership such as vet records naming you
as the owner or photographs of you with the horse at various
places may be helpful, but do may not be sufficiently conclusive
to encourage law enforcement to get involved.
2.
Disprove any claim of lien for past due board or
other legal rights.
Any person or
facility in the business of providing board to a horse may claim a
legal interest in a horse (called a “lien”) for past due board
provided to that horse. If
a valid lien exists some states (including
North Carolina
) permit the lien holder to keep possession of the horse until the
board is paid or the owner has posted a bond with the local court.
Bogus claims of
past due bills for board can be avoided by using a written
boarding contract which set out how much is to be charged as board
and for what services. Contracts
used in other circumstances in which you are temporarily turning
over possession of your horse to another should specify that a
lien is not created for any money due under the contract and that
the possessor must return the horse upon demand.
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