Small claims court for dog maintenance?

pinkshoes

He has taken this to court?!? 

On the basis he he has remarried then he cannot possibly expect you to keep paying! I would respond by offering to help re-home the dog if he cannot afford it. 

myfairlady

pinkshoes said:

He has taken this to court?!? 

On the basis he he has remarried then he cannot possibly expect you to keep paying! I would respond by offering to help re-home the dog if he cannot afford it. 

Yes. I’m more than a little shocked to be honest. I’ll respond and wait to see what happens. 

Thank you. 

Ms_Chocaholic

How long ago did you split up?

MalMonroe

Hi, I think £40 per month for pet insurance was really generous. As you say it was years ago and you have both remarried and moved on, will he still really have all his WhatsApp messages? If you didn't say that you'd pay indefinitely, then I don't see that he has a case. 

It will surely cost him more to take it to court than it's worth. You say your split was amicable but his recent actions aren't very friendly.

I'd let him take it to court, he'll have to pay to do so. Or maybe he's just saying that to manipulate you into paying him again.

I wouldn't contact him at all now, just let him do his worst. It might be a good idea to see if you can get some legal help or advice, just in case. Citizens Advice may be able to help - 

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/law-and-courts/legal-system/finding-free-or-affordable-legal-help/

MalMonroe

Ms_Chocaholic said:

How long ago did you split up?

OP said years ago. Both have now remarried.

FeaturelessVoid

MalMonroe said:

Hi, I think £40 per month for pet insurance was really generous. As you say it was years ago and you have both remarried and moved on, will he still really have all his WhatsApp messages? If you didn't say that you'd pay indefinitely, then I don't see that he has a case. 

It will surely cost him more to take it to court than it's worth. You say your split was amicable but his recent actions aren't very friendly.

I'd let him take it to court, he'll have to pay to do so. Or maybe he's just saying that to manipulate you into paying him again.

I wouldn't contact him at all now, just let him do his worst. It might be a good idea to see if you can get some legal help or advice, just in case. Citizens Advice may be able to help - 

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/law-and-courts/legal-system/finding-free-or-affordable-legal-help/

Nonsense.

The OP didn't say they would pay for a specific period of time (which would be far more normal) so any normal person would assume this is an open-ended offer.

I, at least, agree that I don't think this will go to court, as it's clearly throwing good money after bad (enforcing this GOGW will be costly) but I don't at all agree that it's a slam dunk for the OP. They do owe the money, albeit in an effectively unenforceable way.

deannagone

I think it'll probably depend on the judge who is in court on the day.  Common sense would suggest its unreasonable for the OP to continue paying for insurance for the dog (which will only benefit the ex) for 15 years (depending on how long the dog lives) regardless of a vague agreement years ago.  You don't even pay for children for the rest of their lives lol.  But it is possible a judge will say an agreement was made years ago and still stands.  Can't predict the outcome.  But agreed, don't say anything else.  Just say in your defence you agreed to help when the situation was still relevant, but years later you both have new lives and there was no time period when insurance should be paid agreed.  You could explain you agreed to help temporarily when he was in a tough situation.., or whatever the circumstances were at the time.  I assume there was a reason he was asking for help.., doubt those circumstances exist now years later. 

Remember that legally, a dog is a possession, and isn't actually regarded like a child.  He has possession of the dog.  Not you. But I'm not sure how you'd use that legally or if there is any relevant statute.

ThumbRemote

FeaturelessVoid said:

MalMonroe said:

Hi, I think £40 per month for pet insurance was really generous. As you say it was years ago and you have both remarried and moved on, will he still really have all his WhatsApp messages? If you didn't say that you'd pay indefinitely, then I don't see that he has a case. 

It will surely cost him more to take it to court than it's worth. You say your split was amicable but his recent actions aren't very friendly.

I'd let him take it to court, he'll have to pay to do so. Or maybe he's just saying that to manipulate you into paying him again.

I wouldn't contact him at all now, just let him do his worst. It might be a good idea to see if you can get some legal help or advice, just in case. Citizens Advice may be able to help - 

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/law-and-courts/legal-system/finding-free-or-affordable-legal-help/

Nonsense.

The OP didn't say they would pay for a specific period of time (which would be far more normal) so any normal person would assume this is an open-ended offer.

I, at least, agree that I don't think this will go to court, as it's clearly throwing good money after bad (enforcing this GOGW will be costly) but I don't at all agree that it's a slam dunk for the OP. They do owe the money, albeit in an effectively unenforceable way.

An open ended offer doesn't mean it has to happen in perpetuity. It just means the offer can be terminated when they see fit, as the OP did. 

MobileSaver

deannagone said:

I think it'll probably depend on the judge who is in court on the day. 

I agree it will depend on the judge on the day and could go either way.

However I disagree with some of the other comments by posters; the OP committed to pay £40 a month towards pet insurance and then unilaterally reneged on that agreement without any notice.

I also disagree with the "indefinitely" comments; dogs typically live for around 12 years and so unless it was a puppy (which the OP didn't mention) the insurance would only be expected to be paid for say 10 years or so which is not unreasonable and is much less than say paying child maintenance until they are 18 or 20 years old.

Ultimately it comes down to what the judge believes was agreed and is reasonable. Legally I think the Ex has the much stronger hand - he says he has WhatsApp evidence of the agreement and even if he didn't he can state honestly that the OP agreed to pay £40 a month and the OP of course cannot honestly deny that. More pertinently the Ex will have bank statements showing the £40 a month being paid for several years and then abruptly stopping.

Of course, morally, I agree the Ex shouldn't still be expecting the £40 now they have a new partner but that says more about him and is possibly why he's an Ex.

To answer the OP's specific question; the court will certainly proceed with what appears to be a perfectly valid claim if your Ex actually submits the claim. Depending on how old the dog was when you stopped the payments and its expected lifespan, your Ex's court fees may only be £205 or even £115 if less than six years left so who knows whether they think that's a risk worth taking for potentially £3000 or £5000 in future payments from you? Similarly you may decide to fight this in court because if you lose your additional costs on top of the debt won't be all that horrendous.

Jenni_D

If the OP doesn't have the message then the ex will need to share it with the OP at Witness Statement + Evidence stage.