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