Q: Can I sue for emotional damages or something along those lines? Can I file criminal charges for theft?
My father had me sign a paper which stated that I would be giving him custody of my 3 dogs beginning on 09/18/2019. This was done with the assumption that he would keep all 3 of them temporarily, however, that was never his true intention. On 09/17/2019, a day prior to the paper I signed went into effect, he went to my house while I was not home and took all 3 of your dog's and placed them in a shelter and refused to tell me anything. Is there anything I can do since he took the dogs prior to the date we agreed upon or due to the fact that he never intended on keeping my dogs together as verbally agreed upon? My dogs not only lost me but also each other all at the same time. I found one of them in a shelter in a neighboring County and she was extremely underweight from being depressed and not eating. I have one of the three back but I feel as though 2/3 of my heart is missing. It's beyond difficult to simply live life with a huge piece of it missing.
A: You can sue for the value of the dogs you lost. The “contract” between you and dad is unenforceable, but you can’t get emotional damages from a breach of contract.
Justia Ask a Lawyer is a forum for consumers to get answers to basic legal questions. Any information sent through Justia Ask a Lawyer is not secure and is done so on a non-confidential basis only.
The use of this website to ask questions or receive answers does not create an attorney–client relationship between you and Justia, or between you and any attorney who receives your information or responds to your questions, nor is it intended to create such a relationship. Additionally, no responses on this forum constitute legal advice, which must be tailored to the specific circumstances of each case. You should not act upon information provided in Justia Ask a Lawyer without seeking professional counsel from an attorney admitted or authorized to practice in your jurisdiction. Justia assumes no responsibility to any person who relies on information contained on or received through this site and disclaims all liability in respect to such information.
Justia cannot guarantee that the information on this website (including any legal information provided by an attorney through this service) is accurate, complete, or up-to-date. While we intend to make every attempt to keep the information on this site current, the owners of and contributors to this site make no claims, promises or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness or adequacy of the information contained in or linked to from this site.
