Recently the Court judged that the claim of a client of Beelen Advocaten (EUAEL Alliance Partner) is to be awarded since the horse in question was showing behavioural issues.
An amateur buyer purchased a show jumper from a professional dealer. After delivery the horse showed resistant behaviour during the jumps. The Court ruled that the professional dealer should have taken into account that the horse was bought by an amateur and that it was the duty of the dealer to deliver a horse with a certain character suitable for an amateur. Also the attitude which the dealer had shown after the sale, being that the dealer was unwilling to cooperate to find a solution despite the buyer’s several requests, were decisive when it came to determining that the claim to annul the agreement due to the horse’s behavioural issue should be awarded based on Consumer Protection Law. Such a ruling is unique now that the behavioural issues of horses is often categorized as a result of how the horse was handled after the purchase. The character of the horse is one of the essential elements which make a horse either suitable or unsuitable for the purpose for which it was purchased.
Essential was that the consumer informed the dealer of the defects shortly after the purchase so that it is evident that the behavioural defects must have been present prior to the delivery of the horse.