Strict liability arises in the animal context when the animal at issue is either a wild animal or a domestic animal with a known vicious propensity. This principle is the origin of the well-known “one bite” rule for dogs. Strict liability, sometimes called absolute liability, is the legal responsibility for damages, or injury, even if the person found strictly liable was not at fault or negligent. Under a rule of strict liability, proof of causation is a necessary condition for liability. The early common law distinguished between wild and domesticated animals for purposes of imposing liability on their owners. Owners of fierce or wild animals were absolutely liable for harm caused to others. However, owners of domesticated animals, such as dogs, were liable only if they had scienter; that is, the owners were liable only if they knew of the animal’s dangerous or mischievous propensities. Tort law has traditionally sought to balance the “usefulness” of an animal with the risk it represents to the public. Common law torts is a legal structure that seek to allocate risk among the members of society; the more valuable a particular activity to society, the more willing is the society, through its legal rules, to shift risk of the activity to others.
This paper will be exploring the various reasons for establishment of the strict liability rule in dog bite cases which will be complemented with a case study involving a gas meter reader bitten by a dog on private property and whether there are other appropriate rules applicable to such cases.
CASE FACTS: Pingaro, gas meter reader (plaintiff) warned of dangerous dog’s presence, with caution proceeded to backyard, two dogs severely attack her. She sustained bites that needed stitches, ...
... middle of paper ...
.../caselaw.findlaw.com/nj-superior-court-appellate-division/1396152.html>
Dog Bite Law – New Jersey.
Robert Cooter and Thomas Ulen. Law & Economics 6th Ed. Pearson Education, Inc. Boston, MA. November 2010.
Steven Shavell. Foundations of Economic Analysis of Law. Harvard University Press, 2004.
William M. Landes and Richard A. Posner. The Economic Structure of Tort Law. Harvard University Press, 1987.
Michigan State University College of Law. Animal Legal & Historical Center. Detailed Discussion of Dog Bite Laws.
Lynn A. Epstein 2006. Article: There Are No Bad Dogs, Only Bad Owners: Replacing Strict Liability With A Negligence Standard In Dog Bite Cases.
It was found in the respondents submissions that a duty of care was necessary. The issue of negligence he believed was unsustainable as the risks were minimal and it was not unusual to take one’s eyes off the road. Causation was not satisfied as the judge concluded that the respondent would not have had enough time in any circumstance to avoid a collision with the cow.
calculation to illustrate limitations of breed-specific legislation and decreasing the risk of dog bite-related injury.” Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association 237.7 (2010): 788-792.
Retrieved March 20, 2014, from http://www.humanesociety.org/issues/breed-specific-legislation/fact_sheets/breed-specific-legislation-flaws.html.
When dogs attack people or other dogs at dog parks, it's because rules aren't very enforced. The dog park's visitors in my town have had numerous encounters with the police. A dog facility would solve this issue with a simple legal form that patrons would sign upon registration at the facility. For example, the form would firmly state "ABC Dog Facility is not liable for any injuries that take place" the same way businesses post a sign in their parking lot about theft or damage. As far controlling attacks between dogs, there would be sections for large, medium, and small
“Dog Bite: Fact Sheet.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. CDC, 1 Apr. 2008. Web. 13
National Canine Research Council. Investigative Report for Dog-Bite Related Fatalities 2009. National Canine Research Council, 2010. 6-48. Print.
The defendant claimed that the dog had no previous incidences to prove that they had
Enacting and enforcing strong leash laws is another very effective way to help reduce dog attacks and its easy to tell whether or not a dog has a leash on, unlike the difficulty of trying to determine the breed of some dogs. If a dog is on a leash the owner has control of it, even if said dog does lunge at someone. But leash laws can't just say you must have your dog on a leash. They also need to address dogs being tied out and left outside alone. Do...
Our client, Matty Gustafson, is seeking information on whether or not our firm would be successful in moving for summary judgment in a case brought against her by Donna Whipple. Ms. Whipple has brought a claim under Minnesota Statutes Annotated § 347.22 (Westlaw Nov. 27, 2017), which deals with a dog attacking or injuring another party that is not an owner of the dog. The relevant are outlined below:
Nationwide, approximately 50 percent of all children will be bitten by a dog before they reach the age of twelve (DeIorio, “Have a Dog-Bite-Free Summer”). In Marion County, Florida, aggressive and dangerous breads of dogs are a “serious issue” for the community according to Marion County Commissioner Jim Payton (Thompson, “County drops '1 free kill'”). Responsible dog owners seem to be unaware of the problem but area residents who have been victims of these attacks have turned to the Marion County Board of Commissioners for help. The local County Commissioners have been wrestling with this issue since October of 2009 when a widow from Ocklawaha, Patricia McBee, had three of her dogs euthanized after they allegedly killed her neighbor’s cat (Thompson, “County drops ‘1 free kill’”). The need for change moved even faster after a 3-year-old little girl was attacked and killed by a dog that was chained to a tree outside her house in Citra (Lee, “Girl, 3, mauled”).
b. “Many people have a difficult time properly identifying a true Pit Bull, so added to the statistics are those dogs that have been misidentified. Considering these factors, the actual number of attacks attributable to American Pit Bull Terriers is considerably lower than represented,” according to the real pit bull. i. Do you think a 4 pound Pomeranian dog would hurt anybody? ii. Stated in the Dog Bite Law, “The most horrifying example of the lack of breed predictability is the October 2000 death of a 6-week-old baby, which was killed by her family 's Pomeranian dog.” a. The American Temperament Test is a test that measures a dog strong avoidance, unprovoked aggression, and panic without recovery. “American Pit Bull Terriers passed the test at a rate of 85.3%,” according to Pitbulls.org. They have the highest test scores, and they out beat the golden retriever “family dog” by 7.7%. iii. I identify the justice of my rival’s claim, but I disagree with my rival’s 100 percent about pit bulls having the highest attacks. c. Now you can see how my rival made a mistake because they didn’t evaluate and understood the facts as clearly as they
Coye, Molly J. Guidelines for the Treatment, Investigation, and Control of Animal Bites. The State of California Health and Welfare Agency Department of Health Services. 1992. 1-71.
Thesis: “Breed Specific Legislation (BSL) is the banning or restriction of specific breeds of dogs considered “dangerous”, such as pit bull breeds, Rottweilers, Mastiffs, and German shepherds amongst many others” according to the American Humane Association (2013). It is an inaccurate and unfair attempt at regulating dog attacks by restricting ownership of certain breeds categorized as aggressive.
The dog bites once and punctures the skin, but the puncture is shallower than the length of their canine tooth. This bite may not be severe, but it is both painful and reportable. Once a dog has bitten at this level or higher, they will always be considered a liability, even if their behavior is greatly improved through behavior modification.
In this article, Pitbull.org argues on how Pit bulls tend to get all the attention when they attack human beings. They claim that when a dog attacks, it's not always necessarily the dogs fault. In the article, they say that the cause of the attack is 99% the owner's fault, because they haven't took the time to train the dog properly. The author acknowledges that they may be hard headed at times but when