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and received a check for $250,000 on December 12, 1997. On
December 27, he sent a $225,000 check to Hunt. The memo line on
the front of the check said that payment was being made for
“Hamseh and Desert Spice Interest.” Of course, as the IRS
noticed, this was the same amount that Murphy still owed Hunt for
On the Piste.
It is here that agreement between the parties ends, and we
canter into a mare’s nest of conflicting claims. Murphy argues
that he was in arrears on his payments of principal and interest
on both Hamseh and Desert Spice. As final payment for On the
Piste was not due until the end of 1998, Murphy claims that he
agreed with Hunt to pay off at least some of the interest owing
on the other two horses. That the interest amount worked out to
$225,000, the amount of principal still owed for On the Piste,
simply reflects the fact that that was the money that he had in
hand as a result of the insurance settlement. He relies for
proof on a written payment extension signed by Hunt that gave him
an additional year (to December 31, 1999), to make final payment
for On the Piste, provided that he use $225,000 of the $250,000
in insurance proceeds from the death of On the Piste to bring the
interest owed on Hamseh current through the end of 1997, and the
interest owed on Desert Spice current through the beginning of
March 1997. Murphy claims that the agreement was based on the
interest and principal calculations of his accountant, and that
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