Dog ownership dispute - law of torts delivery up

[char_eliz]

Hi I have received a delivery up court letter for my two dogs. One was acquired jointly in the relationship and one was given as a gift to me by claimant. Court hearing is for 10 mins on 8 April - my defence needs to be handed in on 16 March. Evidence can be submitted before court date.

The separation happened in Nov 2024 and claimant moved out of my house. From Nov 24-Jan 26, we had ad hoc informal arrangements where he would have dogs now and again. Jan 25 - I sought a non-molestation order due to abusive, harassing behaviour and this was granted in Feb 26. I had to stop arrangements due to abuse from him. Now, since then, no contact at all and he has not seen the dogs. He now claims they are his dogs and delivery up and his costs. He has not suggested mediation, which I assume would be tricky due to the live non mol in place.

Am I able to upload the particulars of claim and my draft defence on here for someone to read through and see what they think? Thank you

[Frank1]

While pets are treated by the court as property recent case law has shown that courts are increasingly taking into account the practical rather than just the financial reality of ownership.
Primary caregiver. Who has been mainly responsible for the dog's daily care.
Welfare and attachment. The dog's attachment to the partties and the stability of the home environment.

In light of the above and after reading your post about the non molestation order and the fact he hasn't seen the dogs for several months, it would seem you have a strong defence.

[Frank1]

You could refer in your defence to the recent case
FI v DO [2024] EWFC 384

You could also try typing your defence into bing copilot and request wording and phrases to be redrafted in a professional manner

[atticus]

It appears that the case FI v DO is real and not a joke based on the caricature dog name Fido! https://caselaw.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ewfc/b/2024/384

Para 70:

The final issue in this case is the ownership of the dog. This is a thorny issue between the parties. Both parties jointly purchased the dog. I found the wife's evidence compelling when she said "I would not force a dog to come away when he didn't know me" when talking about the alleged abduction of the dog. She has lived with dogs all her life and they are an integral part of her's and importantly the children's lives. The husband has no inclination as to the upset that will have been caused to the grandmother ,the wife and the children when he forcibly removed the dog from the grandmother outside of the family home. I do not accept that he did not take the dog forcibly as he suggested. Of course the grandmother would have been upset as she was responsible for the care of the dog, similarly the children as they will see it as their dog. Whilst I may understand the husband's actions as he sees the dog as his right "I have more right than the grandmother" he fails to understand the implications of his action which impact the family and the dog . I also do not accept his evidence that the wife did not care for the dog after they separated, her evidence was far more in tune with someone who has the welfare of the dog at heart.

[char_eliz]

Thank you very much for the replies. I just don't understand some of the court's procedures. I have now been told by the court that my defence must be filed by 16 March, and that I can file my evidence bundle up until the hearing on 8 April, provided it is also served on the other side.

My understanding is that the defence should deal with the points raised in the Claimant's Particulars of Claim by either admitting or disputing them. He has said he is and always been sole legal owner and 'borne all associated expenses'

My question is whether the defence should stay relatively concise and simply set out my position (for example that one dog was acquired jointly and the other was given to me as a gift), or whether I should go into more detail at this stage about the supporting evidence- such as witness statements and other documents that I have.
At the moment, the claimant has not filed any evidence with the court.

The only documents of evidence that I have seen are those previously sent to me by his solicitor - letter from vet to say he has been part of the care, insurance document to say it is in his name and retrospective letters from the breeders (dog 1 was acquired in 2019 and dog 2 in 2021 - letters have been obtained 2026.
For dog 1 who was jointly acquired - the letter says he purchased the dog. However, I will dispute this. I visited the breeder on first visit and we chose dog together - he did indeed collect dog from breeder on 2nd visit and hand over cash that was jointly ours. No receipt was obtained at the time. I have messages from Claimant's sister, who also had a pup from the same litter and we discuss which puppy we would like from videos and I say I want a boy with a nice temperament and will have to see them to choose. I then forward photos and videos to claimant- showing my involvement in selecting and acquisition. Dog 2 - The letter from breeder says she was purchased in Nov 2021 - the date is wrong - she was given to me in May 2021 - I have time stamped photos and videos of the day she was brought home. I had no part in selecting or purchase - she was a surprise gift - I have a witness friend there when she was brought home and given to me - and I was told by claimant to choose her name as she is your dog. This person is willing to sign a statement saying this. Insurance letter to say policy in his name - true - payments split - (I have bank transfers to him for insurance costs, post separation and many messages where he asks and then thanks me for bank transfer and cash - so going against his signed statement that he paid all expenses). I got my own policy in December - this was because messages about money had been abusive for many months and I wanted to limit contact. Furthermore, the pet health care was in my name for several months in 2021 - I have obtained a letter from company confirming this.

However, as those documents have not formally been served on me through the court in these proceedings, I was unsure whether I should refer to them in my defence at all yet - mainly because it would give him time to change them as dates were wrong and I have evidence that conflicts his. Both dogs are microchipped to me, all vet care was joint and paid for jointly and all insurance costs were shared. I have a letter from the vet to say that the account was opened in joint names and we both presented the dogs and paid for things.

So I suppose my main question is this: in a Small Claims matter like this, is it acceptable for the defence to simply respond to each point in the claim (admit/deny and state my position), and then provide the fuller detail, witness statement and supporting documents when the evidence bundle is filed before the hearing? I don't want to show my hand a refer to evidence too early as have not received his yet.
I would be very grateful for any guidance. Thank you!

[Frank1]

You are correct that you should admit or deny points in the claim.
Your defence should then go on to state one dog was a gift, when he left the home, when he stopped seeing the dogs following a non molestation order, how you have looked after the dogs and paid for their upkeep since then

Your witness statement which should be filed and served later should go into more detail with short paragraphs in chronological order with the date at the beginning of each paragraph.

Any evidence that you have such as receipts for dog food, vets bills etc should be attached and cross referenced to the text in your statement

[atticus]

If you look at the resources thread (link in my signature, below), you will find guides to court procedures, written for people representing themselves.