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Ready2Sue · Aug 10, 2011, 05:18 AM

My ex and I had a long distance relationship and he was in the military. He lived in another state. Before he left on a 6 month deployment we agreed that I'd take care of his two Rottweilers. We were still in a relationship at this time. A couple days before he left for his deployment, I surprised him at home and caught him cheating. Needless to say I wasn't going to take care of the dogs any more and the relationship was over. He and I agreed that I'd take the dogs and their 4x6x4ft dog house to his cousin's home an hour away from me. I rented a U-haul to make the move. I spent a total of $375.00 on gas and the rental which he agreed to pay me back in full when he returned from his deployment. It has now been 7 months and I contacted him regarding the money he owes me and he refuses to pay. Can I sue and should I? I don't have the receipt from the rental because it was 6 months ago, but I can show the charges on my credit card statement as well as emails in which he confirms that he had agreed to pay me back.

joypulv · Aug 10, 2011, 06:15 AM

Yes, this is a typical small claims sort of case. Look on your state.gov website. There's a fee but you get it from the defendant if you win. Then you have to get him to pay, and that isn't easy, even with a judgement in your favor.

(Gotta ask, why did you agree to this? I've done something similar, and I suppose I was in shock or something.)

Ready2Sue · Aug 10, 2011, 06:47 AM

I agreed to do this because there was no way for him to come and get them. He had already left for his 6 month deployment. I wasn't about to take care of the dogs for 6 months. His cousin couldn't come and pick up the dogs because he couldn't get off work. Meanwhile, I still was taking care of the dogs. The only other option would've been to give the dogs away (Hard to do for 2 full grown Rotts) or have them put down and fortunately for him I'm not that cruel.

Not sure if I was still in shock or not, but I only agreed because I was trying to the right thing and not be spiteful. =/

Thanks for your answer.

AK lawyer · Aug 10, 2011, 09:47 AM

Originally Posted by Ready2Sue

... Not sure if I was still in shock or not, but I only agreed because I was trying to the right thing and not be spiteful. ...

I was about to ask why you trusted him for money when you just had discovered that you couldn't trust him for much more important things. But I have to admit: you did the "right" thing; although you should have asked him to pay up front.

Anyway, you may have difficulty suing him, because of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act.

joypulv · Aug 10, 2011, 10:46 AM

Isn't it funny how women call men like him dogs, men call women who are ugly dogs, and yet we love all dogs, we think they are all beautiful, and wouldn't hurt them for anything.
I am wondering about $375, not to beat a dead horse. I can rent a 16' UHaul for $20 + gas and an hour away is about 50 miles each way, so how do you get 375. Also wondering wasn't the crate knock down; you could have put the dogs in your car and tied the flat crate parts to your roof.

Ready2Sue · Aug 10, 2011, 11:32 AM

I see. Thanks AK lawyer. This is an unfortunate turn of events. So you're saying he's protected because of being active duty military? I looked up the act, but I'm curious as to how I'm protected from not being screwed over. True I should've gotten the money upfront, but there was no way to do it quickly. Not only did we have verbal agreement, but we had a written one as well.

Ready2Sue · Aug 10, 2011, 11:44 AM

joypulv: The amount of the Uhaul was roughly $297 (that's the cost of the rental and the mileage). I traveled 80 miles in each direction and I spent about $80 on gas. I rounded down on to $375 to make it an easy amount. I drive 4 door sedan and it wasn't a regular dog crate. It was custom built dog house that was extremely heavy (solid wood and took 3-4 men to lift with quite a strain). It's a permanent dog house and meant only to be kept outside and it does not come apart. There's no way I could strap that thing to the top of my car. Tried to get it into a regular truck bed, but it was too big and too heavy so I had to get a UHaul.

AK lawyer · Aug 10, 2011, 02:29 PM

Originally Posted by Ready2Sue

joypulv: The amount of the Uhaul was roughly $297 (that's the cost of the rental and the mileage). I traveled 80 miles in each direction and I spent about $80 on gas. I rounded down on to $375 to make it an easy amount. I drive 4 door sedan and it wasn't a regular dog crate. It was custom built dog house that was extremely heavy (solid wood and took 3-4 men to lift with quite a strain). Its a permanent dog house and meant only to be kept outside and it does not come apart. There's no way I could strap that thing to the top of my car. Tried to get it into a regular truck bed, but it was too big and too heavy so I had to get a UHaul.

Personally, I would have driven the dogs to the cousin in the car, and left the dog house. If ex didn't make arrangements for someone to come get it I would have lit a match to it or something.

But that's water under the bridge, I guess.

Reminds me of the last tenants I had in my house. They moved out without any notice in the middle of the winter. Despite terms in the lease prohibiting pets, they had a dog and built a large dog house out of steel and hard siding. It weighed a lot. I was ticked when I discovered it left there. :mad: Since it was too heavy to move, I tore it apart and hauled the pieces to the landfill. Nothing to do with your case, of course, but I figured I'd vent a little.