Legal Question in Civil Litigation in Minnesota

I have a daughter whose boyfriend purchased a half chiwauwa and half dashund from a guy who only had the dog about one or two days and then sold it to him. Anyways at the time my daughter's boyfriend signed a paper saying previous owner could have visitation rights. Anyways the previous owner is now wanting to take my daughter's boyfriend to court for visitation rights. Does he have any legal rights even if my daughter's boyfriend signed a paper. It was not a legal document, just a paper stating it was ok. Could my daughter's boyfriend sell the dog to another owner and would that make the previous agreement null and void?


Asked on 12/22/11, 4:23 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

Interesting question. No, selling the dog would not make the agreement null and void unless there is language in the agreement that expresses it. So the boyfriend just can't sell the dog to you, your daughter or anyone else and make the agreement go away. Generally, courts just deal with money and don't deal with specific performance (e.g. making a dog owner allow visitation to a previous owner). I have no idea what a judge would do in your situation, but she probably wouldn't be happy that this case was in her court. I am not sure what you mean by "legal document." There is nothing in your question that makes it appear that it is an "illegal document." Legally binding agreements don't even have to be written.

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Answered on 12/23/11, 9:22 am


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