Equine Law Blog

Does a Horse Rescue Adoption Give You Ownership?

Animal rescue organizations sometimes face the question of whether the “adoptee” of a rescued animal holds title to that animal and can use it for any purpose, even re-sell it.  An equine rescue in New York litigated the issue of title in Cohen v. Rostron.¹

In this case, the plaintiff received a horse from Project Sage Horse Rescue, a non-profit equine rescue in New York, pursuant to a written adoption agreement.  The agreement gave the plaintiff possession of the horse as its “caregiver,” but the contract prevented the plaintiff from thereafter selling, assigning, transferring, or leasing the horse.  The agreement also required the plaintiff to locate the horse at a facility that was specifically acceptable to Project Sage.  Despite the agreement, however, the plaintiff moved the horse to a facility that the rescue did not approve.  The rescue thereafter reclaimed possession.  The plaintiff sued the rescue for injunctive relief, claiming that the adoption agreement gave her legal title to the horse.  The court disagreed.  It denied her petition on the basis that she failed to demonstrate a likelihood of success on the merits in her case.  The court found that the adoption agreement did not appear to confer title.  Rather, the agreement stated that Project Sage agreed to place the horse with plaintiff as “caregiver” for “the purpose of providing a safe, healthy, and loving environment” and was entitled to repossess the horse without notice, at its discretion, if it believed that the caregiver failed to comply with the agreement’s terms and conditions.

Equine rescues, often cash-poor and short of staff, often cut corners with their contracts and fail to give them the attention they deserve.  Attention to detail in a contract and compliance with the law, however, can make the difference between success or failure in a legal dispute.

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¹ No. 15036/11, 2012 N.Y. Slip op. 30081 (1/5/2012)(withdrawn from publication).

Categories: Contracts, Sales/Disputes