Whose Dog Is That? Delaware Courts Wade Into Pet Custody Fights [View all]

[douglas9]

The country’s premier corporate law court, which routinely confronts the obduracy of controlling billionaires, is finding pet owners no less intractable in their deal-making.

A conflict over ownership of the goldendoodle Tucker pushed Delaware’s Chancery Court into an emerging area of animal law where property rights bump into society’s evolving perception of pets as family members.

Vice Chancellor Bonnie W. David ordered a private auction for Tucker, the subject of a series of Delaware court disputes since his owners split in 2022. Where judges in other states favored a pet’s “best interests” in similar fights, David found Delaware’s default “partition” rules the best resolution for the entrenched disputants.

Still, David “flat-out said this is a living and breathing being that needs care, and that is a pretty big step forward in these types of cases,” said Rebecca Glenn-Dinwoodie, a Pennsylvania attorney practicing animal and family law.

Delaware considers dogs personal property. It’s also one of eight states allowing courts to consider companion animals’ best interests when divorces require division of property.

https://news.bloomberglaw.com/litigation/whose-dog-is-that-delaware-courts-wade-into-pet-custody-fights