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Nonpaying
Boarders: Remedies for California Stables
We
operate a boarding stable in California. One of our boarders
has not paid board for over six months. How do we go about
lien selling the horse? We have requested payment every month
with no response.
California Civil Code Division 3, Part 4, Title 14, Chapter
6.7 Section 3080 provides California boarding stables with an
automatic lien upon horses in their possession for unpaid
board. This lien is often referred to as an “agister’s
lien.” No filing is necessary – the lien continues so long
as the horses are in the stable’s possession. The stable can
use any peaceable and lawful means to prevent the horses from
leaving the property, such as padlocking the horses’
enclosures. If the horses’ owners arrive to take the horses,
the boarding stable can call law enforcement to assist them in
preventing the horses from leaving.
However, the boarding stable cannot lawfully sell the horses
to satisfy the lien without a court order. Typically, the
simplest method of obtaining a court order is to take the
boarder to small claims court and obtain a judgment for the
past due board. The boarding stable can request its expenses
as part of the claim, such as attorneys’ fees, court costs
and process serving costs, and the current limit in California
small claims court is $7,500.
Often, the most difficult part of bringing a small claims
court suit is locating and serving the boarder. California
small claims rules provide for service by certified mail, but
certified mail service seldom works, because most nonpaying
boarders know that no good news ever arrives by certified
mail, and therefore they will not sign for the certified mail.
Often, while the stable waits for the certified mail postcard
evidencing signature to come back, the deadline for serving
the boarder expires, requiring the stable to obtain a new
court date and start the service process all over again.
Meanwhile, the stable is continuing to feed and care for the
boarder’s horses, costing the stable additional resources.
To locate and serve the nonpaying boarder promptly, there is
no substitute for hiring an experienced, professional process
server.
Once the stable has obtained a judgment against the boarder,
the boarder will have 30 days to pay the judgment. If the
boarder pays the judgment, the stable must release the horses
to the boarder. If the boarder has not paid the judgment
within 30 days, the stable can then petition the court for an
order permitting them to sell the horses. If the stable sells
the horses, it must follow certain notice requirements for the
sale – see Section
3080.17.
What happens if the stable doesn’t obtain a court order or
otherwise follow the statutory procedure before selling the
boarder’s horses? The boarder may have a legal claim for
“conversion,” which is essentially a civil form of theft,
in the amount of the horses’ fair market value, plus any
reasonable expenses that the boarder incurs in pursuing the
horses. However, the boarding stable would still have a legal
claim for the outstanding board amount (less any proceeds that
the stable received from the sale of the horses), and the
amount of this claim typically exceeds the horses’ worth.
Therefore, a boarder’s suit for conversion would only be
worthwhile if the horses’ fair market value greatly exceeds
the amount of outstanding board, which is not usually the
case.
Boarding stables can avoid the lengthy and costly statutory
lien sale process by having a boarding contract specifying
that the stable has the right to sell the horses after a
certain period of unpaid board and that the boarder waives his
or her rights under the California agister’s lien statutes.
Equine Legal Solutions’ boarding forms package includes a
boarding contract containing the necessary clauses.
Additional
Information:
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