|
Cops have no right to interpret and / or enforce written contracts between differing parties! Guilty or Not of entity misrepresentation ( this is usually resolved by paying a fee ), this case should have never been handled in this manner. Had it been handled properly, there would not have been this firestorm of controversary over who is responsible! Once possession has been transferred, breach of a contract is determined in a court of law, not by cops on the beat, or, from the heat on the street! The mutt got screwed, Ellen got screwed, and the kid(s) got screwed. Our judicial system just seems to be filling up with illegal, and un-necessary "what-if" prosecutions; a lot of which unfortunately evolve from legally un-enforceable contract language written to satisfy personal wishes, which in fact are in direct contradiction with the laws of the land. It seems that many business owners think that just because they want it a certain way, that it is enforceable if someone agrees to it... NOT! Contract language must be enforceable, and therefore must be shown to be reasonable and within the purview of the courts. I want to say that over 90% of the online contracts I've seen written by amateurs ( most on eBay ) are unenforceable under the state laws in which they would apply. Example, many eBay sellers, and other similar small business owners, like to include a variety of legally contradictory statements in their conditions of sale like " Once the item is shipped, it is out of my control, therefore I will not be responsible for lost, broken, or undeliverable items." In fact, all state consumer protection laws REQUIRE the seller to deliver the product in the condition in which it was advertised when sold, in order to consumate the transaction.. In other words, a seller can not simply absolve themselves of the liability to deliver the product, simply by making a statement to that effect! Similarly, when one is in breach of contract, it becomes a matter for the courts, not the police! I think Ellen has a case against the Muttering Mom, and should go for the jugular! Make her bleed the green blood. That seems to be the only type of blood letting business owners have come to understand.. Where will it all end! I suggest a Revolution against petty prosecutions!
|