Full question:
A 16 year old is defiant and mad at his parents. He moves out. He is later diagnosed by a counselor with Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD). He has a horse that is registered in his name and has a Bill of Sale for the horse. He tells a teacher at the school he 'wants nothing to do with his parents' and sells the horse to the teacher for the $1000. The minor did not have parent permission to sell nor did the teacher obtain parental permission to buy the horse. The teacher has the horse 33 days and starts advertising it for sale on-line. The parents learn the horse is for sale at day 67 and tries to buy the horse from the teacher at her named asking price. The teacher refuses. The teacher sells the horse on Day 80 for $2800 to a 3rd party. Seven days later the parents buy the horse back from the 3rd party for $3500. The minor still refuses to talk or make amends with the parents. Do the parents have grounds to sue the teacher in civil court on grounds that it was an invalid contract with the minor and not legally binding? Monetary damages in the amount of $1800 will be sought. (Difference between purchase price with minor and purchase price of parents to retrieve the horse/property.)
- Category: Minors
- Date:
- State: Montana
Answer:
In most states, the age of majority is 18. It is generally held that a minor does not have the capacity to enter into a binding contract except for "necessites". Until the age of majority, a minor has the power to disaffirm a contract in many cases. However, the minor is the only party having power to disaffirm a contract.
The answer will depend on all the facts and circumstances involved. Generally, a bona fide purchaser is one who takes possession without know of any defect in title or claims on the property. If the person in good fath was unaware of any fact which would cause a reasonable person to doubt on the right of the seller to have sold it, the sale will typically be upheld. A minor generally has authority to sell an item without parental permission, as long as the minor has full ownership and possession or unless the contract terms state otherwise. It will be a matter of subjective determination for the court whether the sale was valid, based on all the facts and documents involved.
This content is for informational purposes only and is not legal advice. Legal statutes mentioned reflect the law at the time the content was written and may no longer be current. Always verify the latest version of the law before relying on it.
