Above the Bar
Board Agreements Five Clauses to Review
by Sean T. Hogan, Esq.
This article is for educational purposes only, so as to give the reader a general understanding of the law, not to provide specific legal advice. No attorney-client relationship exists between the reader and the author of this article. This article should not be used as a substitute for competent legal advice from a licensed professional attorney.
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Agister’s Lien
ShawnaLee Kwashnak
enerally, both the stable and boarder should ensure that the board agreement is in writing, adequately describes the horse being boarded (including age, breed, color, markings, brands/tattoos), fees and costs of services provided, and any insurance policy numbers and insurance contact information. Additionally, there are five clauses that should be included in an effective board agreement.
Stables often ask what legal options are available to them in the event a boarder fails to pay board. Similarly, a boarder must be aware of the recourse available to the stable, should she find herself in a situation where board has gone unpaid. A stable owner who boards horses has by statute a stablemen’s or Agister’s lien on the horse for the cost of its care. Conn. Gen. Stat. § 49-70(a), states, “When a special agreement has been made between the owner of any animal . . . and any person who keeps or feeds such animals, regarding the price of such keeping, such animals shall be subject to a lien, for the price of such keeping, in favor of the person keeping same; and such person so keeping such animals may detain the same until such debt is paid; and if it is not paid within thirty days after it is due, he may sell such animals . . . at public auction, 24
upon giving written notice to the owner of the time and place of such sale at least six days before such sale, and apply the proceeds to the payment of such debts, returning the surplus, if any to such owner.” Quite simply, this means that in the event an owner fails to pay board, after 30 days, the stable may proceed to auction the horse, upon notice to the
March/April 2017
horse’s owner, in order to satisfy the unpaid board bill, and/or pursue a collection matter against their boarder or an action to take title to the horse. It’s worth noting that the Agister’s lien is possessory, meaning that the stable must have and maintain physical custody of the horse throughout any action. Further, the statute should be included in the board agreement so as to put a boarder on notice of the stable’s rights.
Equine Liability Regardless of whether horses are boarded as part of a training operation or as just part of a board-only facility, the boarding agreement should include reference to the Connecticut Equine Liability Statute.
Conn. Gen. Stat. §52-557p, states that a, “person engaged in recreational equestrian activities shall assume the risk and legal responsibility for any injury to his person or property arising out of the hazards inherent in equestrian sports.” From a stable’s position, it’s important to include this text in the agreement, so as to put any boarder on notice of her assumption of the risks, which are inherent to the sport. However, a boarder should also be aware of the statute and that case law has affirmed in Connecticut that the statute does not absolve a stable owner from a claim based upon negligence, as seen in the recent superior court decision in Sawczysn v. Coyne, 62 CLR 254 (Scholl, Jane S., J.), where the stable owner was found to be negligent in assigning a new horse unfamiliar with its surroundings and prone to unpredictable behavior to a rider without warning the rider. Related to equine liability is the inclusion of a waiver and release of liability in the board agreement. Although the value and impact of the use of waivers and releases of liability in Connecticut have been impacted by cases such as Reardon v. Windswept Farms, 905 A.2d 1156 (2006), where the court found that a release of negligence is against public policy, and where the release is a contract of adhesion, in that signing the release was a