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00:00You purchased a female puppy from her.
00:04I just want my dog, but I wanted to be able to breed her.
00:08We went into it as a pet agreement,
00:10which is this contract.
00:11Which disallows you from breeding the dog.
00:16I don't want the dog.
00:17I want the dog fixed.
00:18Well, I can't do that.
00:19I mean, I don't have the equipment here.
00:20This is Judy Justice.
00:30Taylor Lewis is suing dog breeder PJ Carter
00:44for breach of contract and fraud.
00:48Court come to order.
00:49All rise.
00:53Thank you. Have a seat, please.
00:55Hello, Judge.
00:56Case 1069, Lewis versus Carter.
00:59You're welcome.
00:59Miss Lewis, what got you interested in breeding dogs?
01:03I love the breed, and I wanted to help bring something
01:06to the breed to help bring healthy dogs into the world.
01:10What breed?
01:11Bull Terriers.
01:12Had you ever had a Bull Terrier before?
01:14Yes, I actually found one for my husband.
01:17Where did you get the one that you got for your husband?
01:20I just found her on Facebook.
01:21He wasn't AKC registered or anything.
01:24Well, if not AKC registered, how did you know that the one
01:28that you got for your husband was a purebred Bull Terrier?
01:32Well, we were told that he was purebred.
01:34We saw his mom and his dad.
01:35Well, you saw two dogs.
01:37Yes.
01:38But at that point, I wasn't even interested in breeding.
01:42Okay.
01:43And that's a male dog?
01:45Yes.
01:46Who I gather from these papers has never been neutered.
01:49No, he has not.
01:50So you have an unregistered, unneutered dog, and according to you, I think what you said
01:55is you wanted to do something for the breed.
01:57Would you read that back to me?
02:01She said, I love the breed, and I wanted to help bring something to the breed to help
02:04bring healthy dogs into the world.
02:06Okay.
02:07So you went looking for a female?
02:08Yes.
02:09But just to be...
02:11Just to be what?
02:12A companion.
02:13Okay.
02:14Okay.
02:15Not to breed?
02:16No.
02:17I actually have evidence.
02:18Just a second.
02:19Not to breed?
02:20No.
02:21And how did you find the defendant?
02:23On Facebook.
02:24She is, according to your papers, a recognized breeder of Bull Terriers.
02:28Yes.
02:29How much did you pay for your husband's dog?
02:32$400.
02:33Now, you found the defendant who was an experienced breeder of Bull Terriers on Facebook, and you
02:40ultimately purchased a female puppy from her, whose name is, I think, Adora.
02:46Yes.
02:47On what date did you purchase the dog from her?
02:49On January 19th of 2020.
02:52Did you pay her the $2,000?
02:54Yes.
02:55Did she pay you the $2,000 ultimately?
02:58Yes.
02:59And you bought this dog as a companion, but this companion dog did, in fact, have a litter.
03:04Yes.
03:05So...
03:06Sorry.
03:07I'm getting there.
03:08Mm-hmm.
03:09This companion dog had a litter.
03:11That wasn't an accident.
03:12Mm-hmm.
03:13Because you didn't breed this companion dog with your husband's dog.
03:17No, ma'am.
03:18Because your husband's dog is unpapered.
03:20Yes, and I would never do that.
03:21Sometimes you don't have a choice.
03:23So you purposefully bred the dog to have a litter.
03:27Mm-hmm.
03:28On what date?
03:29January 3rd, we did artificial insemination, and again on January 6th of 2020, or 2021.
03:35And who owned the male dog?
03:38Miss Carter's friend had the male dog.
03:40Is that correct?
03:41Yeah.
03:42And that litter produced how many puppies?
03:44Six.
03:45Now, when you purchased this puppy, you had a co-ownership agreement with the defendant?
03:52We did not.
03:53She gave me a year, because she said that we were very knowledgeable with dogs, so on
03:58and so forth.
03:59She gave you a year for what?
04:00To figure out if we wanted to breed her or not.
04:03At that time, we could enter a co-own agreement.
04:05Okay.
04:06So when did you, in fact, enter into the co-own agreement?
04:09Because if the dog was bred in January with a friend of hers, there evidently was a meeting
04:15of the minds that you were going to use this dog at least one time for breeding purposes.
04:20Yes, ma'am.
04:21So then you entered into a co-ownership agreement, which I'd like to look at.
04:25Yes.
04:26Because it has terms on it.
04:28Kevin?
04:29The date that she was paid off was on...
04:31Just a second.
04:38The puppy that was sold, you purchased on what date?
04:43That's what I was trying to say.
04:44We got her on July 19th.
04:47And when she was paid off and we entered into the co-own agreement was on July 9th of 2021.
04:54We went into it as a pet agreement.
04:56And then when she paid the dog off, I said, okay, now I'm going to register her.
04:59Do you want to go into the co-own or do you guys want to keep her as a pet?
05:02So then we both agreed to do a co-own, which is this contract.
05:05And then...
05:06And then you...
05:07Then I registered her.
05:08And when you registered her, did you pay the plaintiff any money?
05:13No.
05:14I paid for the registration.
05:15Okay.
05:16So let me understand this.
05:17She paid you $2,000 for the dog.
05:19Right.
05:20And it was sold as a pet.
05:21Right.
05:22Just want to get it clear.
05:23If she decided within the one year she wanted to breed her, then you would co-own the dog.
05:29You would not get any puppies from the litter.
05:31No, I would.
05:32You would.
05:33So you were supposed to get how many puppies from a litter?
05:36One.
05:37Did you get a puppy from the first litter?
05:40Yes.
05:41Did you sell that puppy?
05:42Yes.
05:43For how much?
05:44She has not been paid or anything yet.
05:45It was to my best friend, but she was for $2,500.
05:47Okay.
05:48Okay.
05:49Did you sell the remaining five puppies?
05:51Yes, ma'am.
05:52Or we kept one.
05:53We sold four.
05:54Sorry.
05:55Did you keep a male or a female?
05:56A male.
05:57How much did you sell the other four puppies for?
06:00For $2,500 to $3,000.
06:02And how much approximately were the vet bills and the breeding that you had?
06:07Like $2,300.
06:09Okay.
06:10And what was the stud fee for the dog?
06:13$1,000.
06:14You spent $1,000 for the stud fee.
06:17Mm-hmm.
06:18And how much did you spend for shots for the puppies, et cetera?
06:22I'm trying to figure out.
06:24You sold the puppies for an average of $2,750 a piece.
06:30Mm-hmm.
06:31Times four.
06:32Well, there was three that was sold for $2,500 and then one that was sold for $3,000.
06:36Did you, in fact, allow a female puppy to be registered with full breeding rights
06:43to the person that you sold the female puppy to?
06:46I did not.
06:47That's either a yes or a no.
06:48No.
06:49Yes.
06:50That's either a yes or a no.
06:51Well, you just told me both things.
06:53Taylor Lewis says dog breeder P.J. Carter breached their contract.
07:09P.J. is countersuing, claiming Taylor breached the breeding contract and wants her to return
07:15a bull terrier.
07:16Okay, so we have $10,500 and minus $1,000 that you paid for the stud fee is $9,500.
07:27Now you're going to tell me what your vet bills were.
07:31Okay.
07:32I think it was about...
07:33Don't give me anything other than bills.
07:35Okay.
07:36I don't want to see anything other than bills.
07:37Just make sure I'm sending you the right thing.
07:45Sarah, do me a favor.
07:46Add those up.
07:47Make sure that they're all for Adora and her puppies.
07:50Okay?
07:51Okay.
07:52So, so far you've covered the cost of the dog and made several thousand dollars.
07:55Sarah's going to tell me exactly how much.
07:57Mm-hmm.
07:58This is your complaint.
07:59Your complaint is that the defendant must have forged your name to AKC Papers.
08:07Yes.
08:08And taken you off as the co-owner of the dog, making herself sole owner of the dog, which
08:16disallows you from registering the dog or further breeding the dog.
08:22And showing.
08:23And or showing the dog.
08:24Yes.
08:25You've never shown her before.
08:26No.
08:27The only reason I didn't was because of COVID.
08:30You've never shown her before.
08:31No.
08:32You have a counterclaim.
08:33Mm-hmm.
08:34And your counterclaim is for breach of this contract, this breeding contract, and for
08:39the value of the dog, which actually you've already been paid for, $2,000.
08:44And or the door back, which you're not going to get because the dog is part of their household.
08:48Your Honor, that was the other thing too.
08:50I wanted to request that I get ownership of Adora.
08:55My only question is, did you in fact, to you, did you in fact sign her name to a document
09:03that allowed you to advise the AKC, but your name is sole owner of the dog?
09:08No.
09:09Well, are you now the sole owner of the dog?
09:12Only with the AKC.
09:13That was a confusion when she was sick and I would steal the dog from her.
09:16And I said, all I'm doing is taking ownership of the breeding rights of the AKC.
09:19That's it.
09:20Okay.
09:21Now you took ownership of that while you had co-ownership with her.
09:25And you did that by executing a document just in your own name?
09:29Right.
09:30And she could have done the same thing to me.
09:31But she didn't.
09:32Yeah.
09:33Because that's a breach of contract.
09:34But the contract already had been broken.
09:36That's why I put her into my name.
09:38Just a second.
09:39You have to tell me what you think gives you the right to change the contract that you had.
09:47There was no change of it.
09:48There was.
09:49Because you are now the sole breeding right owner of the dog.
09:52And prior to that, both of you were.
09:54Right.
09:55Okay.
09:56So there is a difference.
09:57As you said, she could have done it to you.
09:59You did it to her.
10:00So you have to tell me what you consider a valid reason and one that did not breach the contract
10:07that the two of you entered into.
10:09Right.
10:10Okay.
10:11I tried to teach her how to register the puppies and she refused my help.
10:13So when she registered the puppies on May 1st, she registered one of the females with full breeding rights.
10:18Okay.
10:19That was actually a typo.
10:20Shh.
10:21I don't want you to interrupt again.
10:22Okay.
10:23She registered one of the puppies with full breeding rights.
10:26Correct.
10:27Okay.
10:28And that was in violation of what clause of this agreement?
10:31Just tell me.
10:32On the back, under breeding agreement number three.
10:35Okay.
10:36All puppies sold must be sold with limited papers unless agreed upon by everyone.
10:41Must be stated in the contract between future breeding partner.
10:46Okay.
10:47So all puppies must be sold with limited papers.
10:50I understand what that means.
10:52Right.
10:53You know, that means that they're being sold as pets.
10:55And people don't have breeding rights to the dog.
10:57No, they don't.
10:58Correct.
10:59Right.
11:00So she sold it with full breeding rights.
11:01Okay.
11:02Which...
11:03She registered it with full breeding rights.
11:04Just a second.
11:05She registered it herself.
11:06Correct.
11:07With full breeding rights to her.
11:09No, to the person that bought the dog.
11:11Kevin, may I see what she's talking about?
11:14And I have that total.
11:15Your Honor.
11:16I have that total whenever you're ready.
11:17Great.
11:18What's the total?
11:19$1,553.35.
11:21Great.
11:23Your Honor.
11:24I have evidence.
11:25Shh.
11:26Just a second.
11:27Okay.
11:28I told you not to interrupt me again.
11:29Sorry.
11:30Subtract that figure from $9,500, please.
11:33It's the top one to your left, Judge.
11:35That's a letter from AKC.
11:37Shh.
11:38Okay.
11:39This says, the dog was registered online with AKC on May 1st to the new owner of the dog with full registration.
11:49And on July 9th, it was corrected to limited registration type.
11:54By myself.
11:55By you.
11:56I corrected it.
11:57No, ma'am.
11:58Okay.
11:59Sorry.
12:00If you do it again, I'm just gonna dismiss your case.
12:01Okay.
12:02And then we're gonna be gone.
12:03Okay.
12:04Did you, in fact, allow on May 1st, a female puppy to be registered with full breeding rights
12:12to the person that you sold the female puppy to?
12:15I did not.
12:16That's either a yes or a no.
12:17No.
12:18Yes.
12:19That's either a yes or a no.
12:20Well, you just told me both things.
12:23On May 1st, when one of the puppies was sold, did you sell that puppy and allow it to be
12:31registered with full breeding rights, full registration?
12:35Did you allow that to happen?
12:36No.
12:37That's either a yes or a no.
12:38No.
12:39Okay.
12:40You have some proof of that.
12:41Yes.
12:42I'd like to see it.
12:43I have that number for you.
12:44What is it?
12:45$7,946.65.
12:48Okay.
12:53Okay.
12:56So, you sold, according to this, the animal was sold with limited, full co-own.
13:02I don't know what that means.
13:04And it says that said dog must be altered by one year, and a copy of the altered certificate
13:09must be sent to the seller.
13:11I don't know what that is that you're looking at.
13:13Well, this looks like a sign-
13:15Is that the contract between her?
13:17Shhh.
13:18Shhh.
13:19This is a contract between her and the person to whom she sold the puppy.
13:24Okay?
13:25You can show it to the defendant.
13:27Can I explain something?
13:28Just look at it before you explain it.
13:34Yes.
13:35So, on the day that she registered the puppies, she registered three different puppies.
13:39The one they kept, the one they sold that I had no part in selling.
13:42And another puppy that I had sold for them.
13:44Out of those three puppies, those two puppies were sold with full breeding rights.
13:48And did not have my kennel name in the registered name.
13:50Okay.
13:51So, how is it an accident?
13:53The puppy that I have nothing to do with gets full breeding rights.
13:56And I have, AKC says they have full breeding rights.
14:00She registers one puppy correctly, two puppies incorrectly, the two that I have nothing to do with.
14:04So, after I...
14:05Just a second.
14:06She's attempting to answer that question.
14:10What is this that you're showing me?
14:12On the highlighted part, where she says that she wanted no responsibility or anything to do with rehoming the puppies.
14:19You're not rehoming them, you're selling them.
14:21Or selling them.
14:22Sorry.
14:23She doesn't.
14:24What does that have to do with...
14:25Well, she was saying that she wasn't part of it and that was part of her problem.
14:28No.
14:29She doesn't have to be consulted about the buyers of your puppies.
14:33I want the dog fixed.
14:36End of...
14:37Well, I can't do that.
14:38I mean, I don't have the equipment here.
14:39Right.
14:40So, the only thing I...
14:41I wish.
14:42The only...
14:43The only thing I was able to do...
14:44I would.
14:45Believe me.
14:46I would if I could, but I can't.
14:48Taylor Lewis has accused dog gritter PJ Carter of breaching their contract and falsely claiming full ownership of their bull terrier.
15:09PJ wants Taylor to return the dog or get her fixed.
15:12Now, they have to be registered in the proper way according to this contract, which she says they were not.
15:18And according to the AKC, they were not registered in a manner consistent with the agreement that you had with her, which is that she would be consulted.
15:29You would consult with each other with regard to breeding and ownership.
15:34Well, so it's a problem.
15:35You want to keep this dog?
15:36Do you want to keep this dog?
15:37Yes.
15:38She's a part of my family.
15:39She's tattooed on my arm.
15:40Okay.
15:41And so far, according to Sarah's math and according to my figures, $10,500 less $1,000 for breeding rights.
15:50You had some $1,500 worth of expenses with regard to the breeding of this dog, which leaves you with a net profit of almost $8,000.
16:00Okay.
16:01That's not bad.
16:02Right?
16:03No, it's not.
16:04And if you deduct the $2,000 that you paid for the dog, you come out with a nice net figure.
16:09Yes.
16:10The question is, there was some discussion in the paperwork, and you say that you have a male dog at home that you believe probably is a Bull Terrier.
16:18You paid $400 for it, so I kind of doubt it.
16:22But that male dog is not neutered.
16:24Is it now?
16:25He was going to be now after this whole situation.
16:28Well, that's a shoulda, woulda, coulda.
16:30This has been going on for a long time.
16:32Mm-hmm.
16:33This is April, May, June.
16:34Two years, yes.
16:35It's been going on for a long time.
16:37So, it took him a long time to get brains that you don't, if you have no intention of breeding a dog which doesn't have an AKC bloodline,
16:45and if you, as you said in the beginning, wanted to bring something to the breed, you don't bring something to the breed by allowing a situation to exist in your home where there could be an accident.
16:57Yes, ma'am.
16:58Okay.
16:59I totally agree.
17:00But I did want to show you that I did tell PJ at first, when we were talking about breeding and everything, that we had no intention of breeding, and we would get her spade before we got him fixed, as well as she came back and asked if we would stud him.
17:16Okay.
17:17Now, I'm listening to you.
17:18So, you have no further intention of breeding a Dora.
17:25No, I was going to breed her one more time.
17:27Just not with our male.
17:28That's a problem.
17:29Okay.
17:30I don't have to.
17:31I just want her to be my pet.
17:33Fine.
17:34If you just want her to be your pet, and you just want to own her, then that seems to be, even for the defendant, a perfectly logical and obvious choice.
17:45You have her neutered, and she will consent to removing her name as co-owner.
17:50Is that right?
17:51Yeah.
17:52I told her I'd pay fully to put him back in her name.
17:53Just a second.
17:54Just a second.
17:55If that's what you're telling me, if that's what you want, you want this dog in your name, you want to own her completely without any issue with the defendant.
18:05Yes.
18:06I wanted to be able to show her, and that was it.
18:07Great.
18:08Just a second.
18:09Well, you can't show her if she's fixed.
18:10I know.
18:11You know, I know a little bit, I know a little bit about, just a little bit about that.
18:14Yeah, I know.
18:15Okay.
18:16So, if you tell me, this is very easily resolved, that at this time, you're telling me that you would rather have her as a pet.
18:26She's part of your family, and you will have her neutered.
18:29And then the defendant will turn over her papers to you.
18:32She is your dog for all purposes.
18:35You can take her, you can show her around wherever you want to show her, where they allow neutered dogs to be shown.
18:41If you're smart, you'll have your dog neutered.
18:43You don't have, there's no reason for him to be not neutered.
18:46And if that's what you agree to do in what you're going to show me, I don't see that we have any problem here.
18:52Well, that's not what I was going to show you.
18:54What I was trying to say is just at the end of the day, I just want my dog, but I wanted to be able to show her, I wanted to be able to breed her.
19:03You can't have that without the agreement with her.
19:05That was your original contract with her.
19:07That she co-owns the dog.
19:09You want the dog?
19:10That's the contract.
19:11That's going to stay put.
19:12Or you want the dog all for yourself and you have nothing to do with the defendant anymore.
19:16And then I will create that order that makes it clear that Adora will be spayed and not used for breeding purposes.
19:23And the dog, at that point, when proof of neutering is shown to the defendant, she is ordered to return all the papers to you, any documents, and provide any documents to the AKC which indicate that she has any interest in the dog.
19:36Okay.
19:37I still want to breed her and show her.
19:39You know, you can't have it both ways.
19:40You say to her, I don't have an intention of breeding her or showing her, and I just want her.
19:45She's part of the family.
19:46I'm prepared to do that for you.
19:47If you don't want to do that, then you're not going to be able to breed her.
19:51Right now, she's in the same kind of situation she was before.
19:54She was sold to you with a certain agreement, and you can't breach that agreement.
19:59I'm not going to certainly rewrite the contract.
20:02Oh, I didn't expect you to.
20:03Okay.
20:04What?
20:05There's a part that says if both parties agree to not have another litter, she must be spayed within four months.
20:09And we had both agreed at one point, we're done breeding.
20:11Well, she evidently hasn't made that agreement.
20:13Right.
20:14I want the dog fixed.
20:15End of it.
20:16Well, I can't do that.
20:17I mean, I don't have the equipment here.
20:18Right.
20:19So the only thing I...
20:20I wish.
20:21The only thing I was able to do...
20:23I would.
20:24Believe me.
20:25I would if I could, but I can't.
20:27So...
20:28The only thing I could do is put the AKC papers into my name to encourage her to spay her,
20:31so hopefully no more future puppies would be created.
20:33I'm not creating any order that assists her.
20:35Do you understand?
20:36Mm-hmm.
20:37Right now, what exists is an order that says she can't really breed the dog, because she's
20:42not going to be able to sell the puppies for $2,500 or $3,000 a piece.
20:46She may breed the dog, but she'll have to sell the puppies for $400 a piece.
20:51And if what it costs her to breed the dog with vet bills and everything else, and she's
20:56only going to get $400 a puppy, that's an awful lot of trouble to go through to wind up with
21:01a net-net amount of money.
21:04Right.
21:05So because I'm not getting the dog back, that's why I was doing the counter claim.
21:09You're not.
21:10You fixed the problem.
21:11You did that on your own.
21:12Your choice.
21:13Want to have the dog neutered?
21:15She gives you the dog.
21:16Okay.
21:17You got it?
21:18Yes.
21:19Perfect.
21:20We're done here.
21:21Court is adjourned.
21:22I mean, at the end of the day, I'm happy that Adora's coming home with me.
21:25I try to be an ethical breeder, and these dogs are my lifelong problem.
21:29She wanted more money.
21:30That's what it was.
21:31It's my duty to protect them until they die.
21:34Now, it's interesting.
21:36The defendant in that case was really interested in the breed, and she was an experienced breeder.
21:42There's no question that the plaintiff and her husband were just-
21:45Getting into it.
21:46It's not just a hobby.
21:47You have to-
21:48Yeah.
21:49It's not just a hobby.
21:50You have to make sure you have the proper home, the proper papers, the proper bloodline.
21:53And everything.
21:54Because what the plaintiff said was she got interested in breeding because she wants to enhance
21:59the breed.
22:00And I think that if you're going to breed AKC animals, it has to be more than just a-
22:05Hobby.
22:06Just a hobby.
22:07And I say that having experienced it once and being foolish once, it has to be more than just a hobby.
22:15You really have to be smart and committed to do that.
22:18Dedicated.
22:19Right.
22:20That's definitely a hobby.
Recommended
22:27
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