Breeder Loan Template

Hello Fauna members,

I had made a suggestion in one of the recent Board of Inquiry threads that a downloadable/printable breeder loan contract template would take some of the strain and guesswork out of determining who is in the right and who is in the wrong when a loan goes awry and potentially prevent a loan from going south.

My goal here is to gather our collective experience and input and create in this thread some type of template that can then be made a sticky for anyone who wants to protect themselves.

I will start by suggesting some things which come to mind that ought to be included in every loan agreement. Feel free to chime in and I look forward to collaborating with this community of herp enthusiasts.


Include:

Beginning date of contract (Date which animals will be received by owner or breeder)

End date of contract (Date which animals will arrive back to owner)

Who is responsible for shipping (Owner, Breeder, or both each way)

Who is responsible for Veterinary care and food.

Breeder/Owner split of clutch(es) i.e., 50/50, 2 of this 4 of that etc.

Extension disclaimer (I believe a new contract is required for any extensions)


What else?

Location of quarantine site and length of quarantine period

Description of animal(s) that are to be paired

For the vet, breeder is pre-authorized to spend up to $X and the owner will reimburse the breeder in case the owner can't be contacted quickly.

What happens if either the sire or dam is sold, dies, or becomes unfit for breeding.

Right of lien - all bills will be paid in full to the breeder before the animal(s) are returned.

Mediation clause

State in which the contract is to be interpreted and enforced in case of breach.

Liquidated damages- If for some reason one of the parties does not perform, often the other party will be out a significant amount of time even if snakes are returned. Figure out how much that lost season will be and create a liquidated damages clause.
Similarly, if the critters dies due to the fault of one of the parties, liquidated damages for both lost time and the value of the critter.

Force Majeure clause- Releases the affected side from penalties if something beyond their control happened which prevents the fulfillment of their obligation- for example, war, fire, extended flood/hurricane and ensuing damage, etc.

Governing Law-Which state's law will be used in the case of a suit

Whether or not the breeding care can be assigned or delegated to someone else

Whether arbitration is to be used and selection of arbitrators

Length of time of the breeding loan.

How the critters are to be shipped

Limitations to consequential and Incidental Damages

Indemnification and allocation of risk
Business insurance requirement

Severability of contract clauses

Who is authorized to act for each party if that person is not available and a critical decision is necessary?

Disposition of the critters and payment if either party dies.

Are oral modifications permitted or must all changes be written and signed by both parties?

Keep in mind when creating a contract, that even the best most perfectly tailored and executed contract does not assure success, necessarily. What a contract does is give an aggrieved party a cause of action. It takes time and money to sue someone and sometimes it takes more money and time than you think. So even with a well thought out contract, it still makes a lot of sense to be careful of who you are working with.

Here's what I have so far. Please copy and edit as deemed fit:


"This loan agreement made on the day of [DATE] by and among [NAME OF BREEDER], a partnership organized under the laws of the State of [BREEDER'S STATE] (hereinafter known as "Borrower") and [NAME OF LENDER] organized under the laws of the State of [LENDER'S STATE] (hereinafter known as "Lender"). Borrower and Lender shall collectively be known herein as "the Parties". In determining the rights and duties of the Parties under the Loan Agreement, the entire document must be read as a whole.

LOAN TERMS
The Borrower and Lender hereby further set forth their rights and obligations to one another under the Loan Agreement and agree to be legal bound as follows:
Loan Payment Terms: Borrower to pay [PAYMENT OF ANIMALS OR CASH] to Lender [DATE OR DATE FROM ARRIVAL OF BIRTH]. Payment shall be due [DAYS] from the date of production of offspring or upon the expiratory date of this contract, whichever comes last.
Method of Loan Payment: The Borrower shall make all payments called for under this loan agreement by sending check or other negotiable instrument made payable to the following individual or entity at the indicated address:
[LENDER NAME]
[LENDER ADDRESS]
[LENDER CITY, STATE, ZIP]
Default: The occurrence of any of the following events shall constitute a Default by the borrower of the terms of this loan agreement:
* Borrower's failure to pay any amount due on the date required under the
loan agreement.
* Borrower does not update Lender every [QUANTITY] days on breeding
project status.
Exclusive Jurisdiction for Suit in Case of Breach: The parties, by entering into this agreement, submit to jurisdiction in [AGREED CITY/STATE OF EITHER PARTY] for adjudication of any disputes and/or claims between the parties under this agreement. Furthermore the parties hereby agree that the courts of [ABOVE CITY/STATE] shall have exclusive jurisdiction over any disputes between the parties' relatives to this agreement, whether said disputes sound in contract, tort or other areas of the law.

State Laws: This agreement shall be interpreted under, and governed by the laws of the state of [ABOVE STATE].

Superb!!

Thanks. I was hoping someone would expand on it but I suppose it's useable as is and one can modify it for personal use.