White Devon Farm v. Stahl

88 Misc. 2d 961, 389 N.Y.S.2d 724, 20 U.C.C. Rep. Serv. (West) 291, 1976 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 2784
CourtNew York Supreme Court
DecidedSeptember 23, 1976
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 88 Misc. 2d 961 (White Devon Farm v. Stahl) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering New York Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
White Devon Farm v. Stahl, 88 Misc. 2d 961, 389 N.Y.S.2d 724, 20 U.C.C. Rep. Serv. (West) 291, 1976 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 2784 (N.Y. Super. Ct. 1976).

Opinion

Edward J. Greenfield, J.

This is the tale of the stud who was a dud. Or so plaintiff claims. While we may be admonished not to look a gift horse in the mouth, when a horse is being purchased it has to be examined closely there and in several other places to be deemed acceptable. The action, which is for rescission of the sale of a horse because of a claimed breach of warranty, and for the return of the $75,000 purchase price, was tried before me without a jury, partly on stipulated facts, and partly on the testimony of breeders and veterinarians. Basically, two issues are raised — the extent to which the horse did not conform to the warranties of sale, and [962]*962whether or not the inspection of the horse and its rejection for inadequacy was timely.

The facts are these: On December 23, 1969 Jack Stahl entered into a written agreement with Martin Tananbaum to sell a 75% interest in the stallion Meadow Paige for the sum of $75,000. Meadow Paige was a standardbred who had achieved some degree of success in trotting races. $50,000 of the price was to be paid to Stahl on January 5, 1971, and the remaining $25,000 one year later. Title to the 75% interest was to pass to Tananbaum on January 5, 1971. As part of the transaction Tananbaum agreed to cosign a promissory note of $50,000 with Stahl. It was agreed that if Stahl defaulted on the note, the $50,000 would be made good by Tananbaum, who could treat that as a payment of the first installment. Tananbaum had the option of then paying the additional $25,000 to Stahl, in which event title to the 75% interest would pass upon such payment. It was further agreed that the horse could be raced until November 1, 1970 with the purses to be shared between the parties. Thereafter, Meadow Paige was to be retired to stud. Stahl agreed that between November 1 and December 31, 1970 he would have the horse tested on two separate occasions by different veterinarians, and would obtain their certificate that: (a) the stallion was fit for stud purposes; (b) the stallion’s sperm was normal for stud purposes; (c) the reproductive tract was normal for stud purposes; (d) that semen samples from the stallion would show a concentration of sperm at normal acceptable levels, the percentage of abnormalities within acceptable minimal limits, with acceptable survival time and normal acceptable mobility.

The agreement provided that if the required written certifications by licensed veterinarians were not delivered by Stahl, Tananbaum could elect to rescind the purchase.

On March 24, 1970, Mr. Tananbaum died. Shortly thereafter Stahl defaulted on the note which Tananbaum had cosigned. Tananbaum’s estate then paid the amount of the note, $50,000, to the bank, and also, on June 23, 1970 paid $25,000 to Stahl, completing the payment of the purchase price. Thereafter, in due course, all rights of the estate with respect to Meadow Paige were assigned to plaintiff, White Devon Farm. Meadow Paige continued to race through the summer of 1970, and was kept at the Houghton Stable where he had been placed by Stahl. In September of 1970, he was shipped to [963]*963the Collins Stable in Geneseo, New York, and in November of 1970, he was retired to stud at White Devon Farm.

The first attempts at breeding Meadow Paige did not meet with success. Stahl was informed of this, and he asked plaintiff to arrange for the tests by two licensed veterinarians. Accordingly, Meadow Paige was tested by Dr. Robert H. Pierson, resident veterinarian at White Devon Farm, and by Dr. Robert M. Kenney of the University of Pennsylvania. They each reported that after physical examination and miscroscopic evaluation of the stallion’s sperm, the stallion was not acceptable as a breeder and that the sperm was below the standards of acceptability.

On December 21, 1970 and January 25, 1971, plaintiffs attorney advised Stahl of the unsatisfactory results of the tests and asked for a refund of the purchase price pending further testing, or for rescission of the December 23, 1969 agreement. A copy of the test results was forwarded to Stahl on February 2, 1971. On February 23, 1971 Stahl’s attorney wrote to plaintiff denying any liability. Pending resolution of the dispute, Meadow Paige was retained at White Devon Farm, and there were continued attempts to breed him to various mares. Stud fees of $750 to $1,000 were charged per live foal.

Interestingly enough, although the veterinarians testified that sperm motility was less than 5%, that abnormalities were high and longevity was below normal, during the 1971 breeding season Meadow Paige was bred to 38 mares and produced 27 live foals. Does this subsequent success at siring foals negate plaintiff’s claims that the warranties as to the stallion’s capacity as a breeder were breached? The court concludes that it does not. The parties were entitled to get what they bargained for at the time that they bargained for it. The right of the buyer to rescind must be determined as of the time the election to rescind was exercised. The parties’ rights are not to be determined by subsequent events. Further, the question as to compliance with the warranties is to be measured by the specifics the parties agreed upon, and not by a generalized conclusion as to whether there was an overall fitness for the purposes intended. Every sale comprehends within it the warranty of fitness for the purpose intended, unless all warranties have been expressly excluded. The parties may nevertheless supplement the warranty of fitness and call for detailed and objective standards of compliance. That is [964]*964what the parties did here. Not only was Meadow Paige warranted as being fit for stud purposes, but the parties agreed that the semen samples had to be within normal acceptable limits. It is clear from the testimony of the expert veterinarians in the case and from their written reports that the samples of semen taken from the stallion were not within normal acceptable standards. While it may be surprising given the reports on microscopic evaluation, that Meadow Paige could produce a substantial percentage of live foals, the test is one of meeting the called-for standards and not of ultimate results. The expert testimony demonstrated that Meadow Paige was not satisfactory as a breeding stallion. When retired from racing, he did not appear to be terribly interested in breeding. Even with good libido, he was difficult to handle. He was clumsy, temperamental and awkward. In fact, the manager of the breeding farm testified that he was the "most dangerous stud horse with a mare that I have ever had experience with.” In order to produce the number of foals that he did, it was required that Meadow Paige be bred at a ratio of five times for each live foal. Normal performance would have required half those attempts. Had he been satisfactory, the testimony indicated, he could have been bred to 60 mares in a season, and should have produced 40 to 45 foals. While Meadow Paige earned $10,422 in stud fees for the farm in 1971 and 1972, the undisputed testimony was that he should have been able to produce $30,000 to 35,000 a year for up to 10 years. In fact, the testimony revealed that one 16-year-old stallion was earning $100,000 a year for his demonstrated prowess with horses of the opposite sex. (How shattering a revelation, and how humbling to the inflated ego of the human male, to realize that no one would evaluate his efforts on so lofty a pecuniary scale!) In any event, it is clear that even though Meadow Paige in his six years of racing compiled an enviable record of success, he was not satisfactory as a breeder. The express warranties of the contract of sale clearly were not complied with.

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Bluebook (online)
88 Misc. 2d 961, 389 N.Y.S.2d 724, 20 U.C.C. Rep. Serv. (West) 291, 1976 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 2784, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/white-devon-farm-v-stahl-nysupct-1976.