OklahomaHorses Magazine July 2021

July/August 2021 • OklahomaHorses 23 By Attorney Melissa Fell I f you are an animal owner or caretaker, you understand the responsibilities are endless. The term “animal parent” has become more and more commonplace, and for good reason—it is much like parenting, but the “children” never grow up and take care of themselves. From the moment you take on the role, you are engaged in all aspects of taking care of the needs of your animal. And this comes with duties and legal responsibilities, or the opposite; you are afforded rights that others may not be respecting or are subject to interpretation. Many times, these lead to a conflict with other people with whom you interact because of the animal in your care and control. These conflicts or disputes can run the gamut, including emanating from events and social interactions to property, contract, divorce or end of a relationship, partnership and business agreements. Let’s face it, just as we are protective and highly responsive to any issues around our children and family, so it is with our animals. Our attachments run deep, and the financial investment can be very big as well. Any dispute in today’s environment can quickly turn litigious, with parties to the dispute becoming positional. Most often, this leads to expensive legal processes that are costly not only in dollars but in time and energy as well. Typically, the litigation process is not designed to elicit results based on the interests and best solutions but rather to come to a decision, with a winner and loser, that doesn’t even address the underlying issue, nor does it help the parties find a peaceful resolution or protect the best interest of the animal involved. But there are methods to resolving disputes that are much more efficient and yield far better results for those involved and their animals—these include methods of Alternative Dispute Resolution. The American Bar Association describes Alternative Dispute Resolution (“ADR”) as “the process of solving disputes without liti- gation.” This process can occur at any point of a dispute, even prior to one erupting to keep things from escalating and to work out agreements to avoid disputes. Forms of ADR include mediation, nego- tiation, settlement conference and collabo- rative process. Almost any type of dispute or potential dispute other than a criminal matter can be resolved through ADR whether it is business, contract or property. Since animals are considered property of the owner, most matters involving domestic animals are considered civil disputes. Equine-related (horse) disputes can arise out of all aspects of ownership and involve- ment, including buying and selling, care and feeding, hauling, boarding, training, and competition such as rodeo, showing, eventing and racing. Many disagreements arise out of the care of the animals related to veterinary, farrier and other third-party services, such as training and boarding. Other parties may be brought in because they have an interest, such as insurers for those parties or the animals. The inter- ests may be financial, such as someone feels they are owed money, or rights and responsibilities related to activities or duty to perform services. Common financial disputes emanate from buy/sell agreements and pre-purchase exams when undisclosed or unknown issues arise after the exchange. One has to look at the type of relationship that is in- volved in these tight-knit circles that bears Alternative Dispute Resolution IT DOESN’T HAVE TO GET UGLY