What can I do?

[needdivorce]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? GA

I live in a rural county in GA. This involves me and my neighbor's former employee, who lived on her property. Just after Christmas last year, I believe it was on Dec. 29, my 10-year-old daughter was spending some time at my parents, who live basically next door to us. She was riding her new bike on my mom's driveway when the neighbor's (employee) dog came into my mom's yard and bit my daughter on the leg. Fortunately, the bite wasn't too bad, and it was cleaned in the ER and she was put on 2 weeks worth of antibiotics. The Sheriff's dept and Animal Control were notified as per our local policy. We had had problems before with this dog coming into our yard (both mine and my parents as well as another neighbor) and getting aggressive, but no biting. Animal Control had advised the owner of the dog as well as the property owner to keep the dog in their yard and not let him roam. AC deemed the dog to be a vicious animal and he was put down. Honestly, things have been much better without the dog around.

This afternoon I was served papers by the sheriffs office. The dog owner is suing me for $2500 because he lost a beloved family pet and this is the cost to have the dog replaced. How am I liable to replace this man's dog that bit my child? Please help me. I cannot afford an attorney!

 

[Mark Maroon]

This afternoon I was served papers by the sheriffs office. The dog owner is suing me for $2500 because he lost a beloved family pet and this is the cost to have the dog replaced. How am I liable to replace this man's dog that bit my child? Please help me. I cannot afford an attorney!

You might want to get an attorney (you can probably get a referral to one who won't charge you anything or much), but basically I don't see how they have a cause of action against you. So long as they are not claiming that you made the whole thing up, or lied in some way to animal control, then you didn't harm the dog in any way. They need to sue animal control.

When you talk with the attorney, you might want to find out if you can/should counter sue the plaintiff for any medical expenses that you were not reimbursed for, and for any pain and suffering that your daughter has experienced.

 

[quincy]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? GA

... She was riding her new bike on my mom's driveway when the neighbor's (employee) dog came into my mom's yard and bit my daughter on the leg. Fortunately, the bite wasn't too bad, and it was cleaned in the ER and she was put on 2 weeks worth of antibiotics. The Sheriff's dept and Animal Control were notified as per our local policy. ... Animal Control ... deemed the dog to be a vicious animal and he was put down.

... This afternoon I was served papers by the sheriffs office. The dog owner is suing me for $2500 because he lost a beloved family pet and this is the cost to have the dog replaced. How am I liable to replace this man's dog that bit my child? ...

I agree with Mark that you should consult with an attorney. Perhaps there is a legal aid clinic or a law school near you where you can find free or low-cost legal assistance.

It is possible that the neighbor's suit against you can be dismissed, and it could also be possible for you to countersue your neighbor for the costs incurred by you as a result of the dog's attack on your child. The attorney you see can review the facts and go over your legal options.

Following is the dog bite law for the state of Georgia but you will also need to check out your local city/township dog ordinances. For a dog to be judged "vicious," it can be sufficient to show that the dog violated a local dog ordinance by being off a leash and/or not under the control of its owner.

From Michigan State University's College of Law, Animal Center:
http://www.animallaw.info/statute/ga-bite-§-51-2-6-dogs-liability-owner-or-keeper-injuries-livestock

The amount being asked by your neighbor, as a note, is out-of-line with the laws in Georgia on the value of a dog.

 

[LdiJ]

I agree with Mark that you should consult with an attorney. Perhaps there is a legal aid clinic or a law school near you where you can find free or low-cost legal assistance.

It is possible that the neighbor's suit against you can be dismissed, and it could also be possible for you to countersue your neighbor for the costs incurred by you as a result of the dog's attack on your child. The attorney you see can review the facts and go over your legal options.

Following is the dog bite law for the state of Georgia but you will also need to check out your local city/township dog ordinances. For a dog to be judged "vicious," it can be sufficient to show that the dog violated a local dog ordinance by being off a leash and/or not under the control of its owner.

From Michigan State University's College of Law, Animal Center:
http://www.animallaw.info/statute/ga-bite-§-51-2-6-dogs-liability-owner-or-keeper-injuries-livestock

The amount being asked by your neighbor, as a note, is out-of-line with the laws in Georgia on the value of a dog.

Re the bolded...we don't know what kind of dog it was. There are a few purebreds that actually have that kind of value. I cannot imagine paying that kind of money for a dog, but some people do.

 

[quincy]

Re the bolded...we don't know what kind of dog it was. There are a few purebreds that actually have that kind of value. I cannot imagine paying that kind of money for a dog, but some people do.

I was looking at the neighbor's suit based on the value of a "beloved family pet," which is generally not a factor considered when figuring the value of property. The value of a dog will, traditionally, take into consideration factors like the age of the animal. The value of a "used" animal is less than the replacement value of the animal.

BUT, there was an animal cruelty case out of Georgia, Futch v The State, 314 Ga. App. 294, which was decided in February of 2012, where a court looked at more than the value of used property.

In Futch, an animal cruelty case, the Court considered not only the original purchase price of the Labrador retriever wrongfully killed, which was $750. The Court also looked at what the current market value of a similar dog would be. The Labrador retriever that had been killed had been trained to hunt and retrieve. An animal expert testified that the training increased the market value of the dog to between $3000 and $5000. The Court assessed the value of the dog at $3000 for the purposes of restitution.

For access to the case, here is a Michigan State University's College of Law, Animal Center, link:
http://www.animallaw.info/case/futch-v-state

That said, however, the neighbor does not appear to have any legal action against needdivorce, regardless of the type of dog that was killed or the dog's market value at the time of death. This is because needdivorce was not responsible for the death of the neighbor's dog. It appears that Animal Control euthanized the dog because Animal Control considered the dog a vicious dog. If any legal action is to be taken, it would be against Animal Control.

Thank you for pointing out that statement of mine, LdiJ. I should not have made it without access to more facts.

 

[LdiJ]

I was looking at the neighbor's suit based on the value of a "beloved family pet," which is generally not a factor considered when figuring the value of property. The value of a dog will, traditionally, take into consideration factors like the age of the animal. The value of a "used" animal is less than the replacement value of the animal.

BUT, there was an animal cruelty case out of Georgia, Futch v The State, 314 Ga. App. 294, which was decided in February of 2012, where a court looked at more than the value of used property.

In Futch, an animal cruelty case, the Court considered not only the original purchase price of the Labrador retriever wrongfully killed, which was $750. The Court also looked at what the current market value of a similar dog would be. The Labrador retriever that had been killed had been trained to hunt and retrieve. An animal expert testified that the training increased the market value of the dog to between $3000 and $5000. The Court assessed the value of the dog at $3000 for the purposes of restitution.

For access to the case, here is a Michigan State University's College of Law, Animal Center, link:
http://www.animallaw.info/case/futch-v-state

That said, however, the neighbor does not appear to have any legal action against needdivorce, regardless of the type of dog that was killed or the dog's market value at the time of death. This is because needdivorce was not responsible for the death of the neighbor's dog. It appears that Animal Control euthanized the dog because Animal Control considered the dog a vicious dog. If any legal action is to be taken, it would be against Animal Control.

Thank you for pointing out that statement of mine, LdiJ. I should not have made it without access to more facts.

Its interesting that the case you found had to do with a dog that was trained to hunt and retrieve, because hunting dogs were the main type of dog that sprang to mind when I responded to you.
I was thinking more breed than training though, so that made the case doubly interesting.

 

[quincy]

Here are two additional links, one from (again) the Michigan State College of Law site and one from the Animal Legal Defense Fund site, both of which give good overviews of the laws (and case law) throughout the country that are looked at when determining the value of an animal in wrongful animal death or injury claims.

Michigan State College of Law: http://www.animallaw.info/article/determining-value-companion-animals-wrongful-harm-or-death-claims-survey-us-decisions-and

Animal Legal Defense Fund: http://aldf.org/resources/when-your-companion-animal-has-been-harmed/damages-for-death-or-injury-of-an-animal/

As a note: The market value of a "vicious" dog is probably not going to be very high.