I am getting sued for $550,000 for breeding my dog
Two years ago a relative suddenly passed away and I took posestion of her puppy. This is a special breed. There are less that 1000 prime specimins and this particular pup was the decendant of a well known award winning showdog.
within a month of owning the dog we get bombarded with unsolicited requests to breed the dog offering shocking life changing amounts of money. We were reluctant at first but the offers were too big to ignore.
Here is the thing, my relative signed a contract saying she is not allowed to breed the dog and outlines large financial penalties each time the dog is bred. There is also a clause the dog must be surrendered back to the original breeder if she is unable to care for it and forbids selling or transfering the pet.
I found this out via a heavy certified mail envelope outlining the contract and tallying up many listings of suposed offspring from the breeding to a whopping breach of contract penalty of about $550k that were outlined to lost revenue to her bussiness. I have 30 days to respond and surrender the dog otherwise a lawsuit will be filed.
Am I bound by the contract my relative signed after inheriting the dog?
Could I face legal repurcussions for moving the dog outside the USA or having the dog "run away" before they file the lawsuit?
original owner just recently found out my relative passed. The estate is already closed. can she sue my extended family who were the benificiaries?
All in all the priority would be to keep the dog as its part of our family and the main thing we remember our late relative by.
Location: NYC
plaintiff location: California