OAKLAND – A federal judge is allowing a woman’s breach of contract claim concerning the purchase of a foal to proceed.
Plaintiff Kirstin Ridgway sued defendant Soley, a foreign entity, and its sole shareholder Sandy Phillips after paying $57,524 in exchange for receiving one foal from defendants' mare Riverdance. Instead, the foal was sold to another buyer, leading plaintiff to sue over allegations of fraud and breach of contract.
In his March 18 decision, Judge Haywood S. Gilliam Jr. allowed plaintiff’s breach of contract claim to proceed.
“Unless they reach a final settlement agreement (not a settlement in principle) as to what remains of this case, the parties must be prepared to proceed to trial as scheduled on May 18, 2020 (and to meet all pretrial deadlines, which remain in effect),” Gilliam wrote.
The judge further dismissed Soley from the litigation without prejudice.
"Plaintiff has had over eight months to complete service on Soley," Gilliam wrote in his ruling. "At the Jan. 30, 2020 hearing, plaintiff’s counsel explained that he had not served Soley because of the complexities and expense of serving a foreign corporation. But plaintiff knew Soley’s status as a foreign entity when she named Soley as a defendant."
The complaint was originally filed in Sonoma County Superior Court but the defendant transferred the case to federal court.
“Defendant never intended on selling the foals to the plaintiff, instead she overbilled the plaintiff for the pregnancy care and maintenance for the pregnant mares, charged outrageous interest charges to the plaintiff and then kept the foal for herself,” Ridgway alleged in her suit.
The defendant, however, claims she sold the foal to another buyer because plaintiff allegedly had failed in her obligation to pay for the services.
“After ample notice and requests for plaintiff to bring her account current, Soley ultimately sold the foal,” stated Ryan C. Wood, attorney for the defendant Phillips. “After which, Soley used the funds to satisfy the account and bring it current.”