cattle auction question

[hoghollow]

Had 8-9 year old angus cow came into heat two weeks ago so decided to take her to local cattle auction here in Wisconsin. The cow loaded onto trailer good and I hauled her 20 miles to auction barn. She unloaded fine and walked down alley way to pen all was good. Did paperwork to consign her for auction being held this morning. Received phone call around 5 this evening saying they had bad news that cow went down in holding pen before auction and died. Told me it was my loss and when I asked what the insurance I am charged for for when cow sales along with there commission covers they said it only pays if they do something wrong??? Cow is worth 12 1400 hundred dollars This does not seem right what would you do? thinking talking to lawyer or am I just shut out of luck on this? I sell 20 to 30 head of feeders here a year or should I say I used to

 

[rockcreek4630]

Had 8-9 year old angus cow came into heat two weeks ago so decided to take her to local cattle auction here in Wisconsin. The cow loaded onto trailer good and I hauled her 20 miles to auction barn. She unloaded fine and walked down alley way to pen all was good. Did paperwork to consign her for auction being held this morning. Received phone call around 5 this evening saying they had bad news that cow went down in holding pen before auction and died. Told me it was my loss and when I asked what the insurance I am charged for for when cow sales along with there commission covers they said it only pays if they do something wrong??? Cow is worth 12 1400 hundred dollars This does not seem right what would you do? thinking talking to lawyer or am I just shut out of luck on this? I sell 20 to 30 head of feeders here a year or should I say I used to

Where I sell if it is consigned it is covered. I would talk to someone else at the sale barn.

 

[hoghollow]

Where I sell if it is consigned it is covered. I would talk to someone else at the sale barn.

that is what i always assumed I was talking with the owner

 

[da.bees]

Ask to see terms and conditions of ALL items paid for on paperwork you received as well as terms and conditions of consigning livestock to them for auction. It's very possible they are self insured and like all insurance companies, if they can weasel out of paying off they will do it.

 

[john in la]

it only pays if they do something wrong

And I’m sure they admit (like every other person does) up front when they do something wrong.
I bet if you bought said cow and it died in the trailer on the way home that would be your fault.

If the cow is in their possession I believe their insurance should cover it.

 

[NoDakInMN]

It probably boils down to a matter of costs. At $1,400, most of that might be in their deductible so it comes out of their pocket, consequently they will obviously try to deny responsibility. Because the amount is small enough, small claims court will be your legal option because neither one of you can justify hiring an attorney for that amount. Review all the paperwork to make sure you never signed anything that excuses them from liability, then it becomes a matter of what can be proven, but the fact the animal died while in their possession implies some potential responsibility on their part. If they don't want to work with you on this, letting them know you intend to file a suit in small claims may alter their thinking because defending themselves may cost them more than it's worth. But again, review your paperwork first.

 

[caterpillar guy]

I think you need better information than from a bunch of arm chair lawyers. No insult intended just how it rolls for local laws on some things.

 

[DaveBN]

What caused the animal to die? Did a Vet examine that cow? I would want to know that before taking action either way.
Dave

 

[Tx Jim]

I'm under the impression if livestock walks off the trailer & auction accepts animal for consignment to the sale then animal is covered by insurance that consignee is charged for when animal is paid for by auction.

 

[miner09]

The barn should pay you. That’s what the insurance is for. At least they pay here at local barn.

 

[Texasmark]

I'm under the impression if livestock walks off the trailer & auction accepts animal for consignment to the sale then animal is covered by insurance that consignee is charged for when animal is paid for by auction.

The sale barn where I used to sell livestock had a vet station at the road that led into the unloading area where the cows were kept before being routed into the sale pen. I'd say that if a bovine passed that inspector, then it should have made it through the rest of the sales process.

 

[hoghollow]

The barn should pay you. That’s what the insurance is for. At least they pay here at local barn.

thanks everyone for your replies. I am going to meet with sale barn owner later this week and see if we can hammer out an agreement. Talking with other sales barns in this area they both say once they accept cow on consignment they are responsible so we will see how our meeting goes.Will keep you posted

 

[ss55]

What caused the animal to die? Did a Vet examine that cow? I would want to know that before taking action either way.
Dave

2X on have a vet check over the cow.

 

[Leroy]

What caused the animal to die? Did a Vet examine that cow? I would want to know that before taking action either way.
Dave

Sickness or getting hurt or something else? And have they already disposed of the cow? Was a different cow what caused the death of your cow? Over 40 years since I had any connection to a sale barn and the one we had closed probably around 30 years ago. So I have no idea how things are done now. Just wondering what made the cow die. If killed by anouther cow I would think the barn would be responibal.

 

[M Nut]

thanks everyone for your replies. I am going to meet with sale barn owner later this week and see if we can hammer out an agreement. Talking with other sales barns in this area they both say once they accept cow on consignment they are responsible so we will see how our meeting goes.Will keep you posted

I'm interested in your outcome, and hope you get compensation. I had something similar happen to me once, and I was told that I was out of luck. It happens, and there is nothing that can be done about it. At that time, market cows were only worth $400 or so, so I just wrote it off as a loss.

 

[tomstractorsandtoys]

Had 8-9 year old angus cow came into heat two weeks ago so decided to take her to local cattle auction here in Wisconsin. The cow loaded onto trailer good and I hauled her 20 miles to auction barn. She unloaded fine and walked down alley way to pen all was good. Did paperwork to consign her for auction being held this morning. Received phone call around 5 this evening saying they had bad news that cow went down in holding pen before auction and died. Told me it was my loss and when I asked what the insurance I am charged for for when cow sales along with there commission covers they said it only pays if they do something wrong??? Cow is worth 12 1400 hundred dollars This does not seem right what would you do? thinking talking to lawyer or am I just shut out of luck on this? I sell 20 to 30 head of feeders here a year or should I say I used to

If you are referring to Bloomington I would want proof the cow even died. Some shady stories coming from them lately.

 

[hoghollow]

If you are referring to Bloomington I would want proof the cow even died. Some shady stories coming from them lately.

not bloomington will say who it is after i meet with owner next week plan on meeting first of next week now to busy this week? thinking may be short meeting

 

[JOCCO]

Hog I have been loosely following this and know nothing about how cattle auctions work. I would suggest you research or talk to an attorney regarding state laws on this. What about your farm insurance? will it pay? There are some attorneys on here John T being a popular one and I had hoped he would chime in, you might reach out to him for general advice. I would also expect the sale barn is going to deny any thing and if they have to pay will try to beat it down low as possible. as others said small claims court is probably the route to travel but you must prove your case. Sometimes it kind of forces them to act or they see the game is over and will settle. keep us posted.

 

[JOCCO]

Hog I forgot one thing that needs to be established, how did it die? natural causes, someone killed it, this may have a bearing on what will happen.

 

[BarnyardEngineering]

Hog I forgot one thing that needs to be established, how did it die? natural causes, someone killed it, this may have a bearing on what will happen.

The time to act on getting a cause of death was when the animal dropped dead. Not two days later. That animal is long gone, ESPECIALLY if the sale barn is trying to cover up their shenanigans. That animal was long gone before they even called the OP to tell him it was dead.

It's a sale barn, so dead cattle is a daily occurrence. Unless things have changed and people have gotten a LOT more honest in the last 20 years, they get cows with undisclosed problems regularly. Farmers trying to get something for a sick cow before it drops dead, and they end up paying the dead wagon to haul it away.

Taking a cow with known problems to the sale barn in the hopes that it will drop dead there so you can collect the insurance, is fraud.

The OP did say they took the cow to the sale barn because it came in heat. That means it either lost its calf or could not be bred. The cow was not healthy.

Regardless, I don't think the OP can expect any sort of recovery on this. The sale barn is just going to say that he brought her in with known health problems, and that will be that. Having the cow autopsied would cost more than the cow was worth. Litigating this in court will cost more than the cow is worth. It's best to just mark it as a loss on your taxes, and let it go.