“Judge Upholds Liability in Dog Bite Case Involving Vancouver Woman at Dinner Party”
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The BC Supreme Court finds dog owners could not have known the animal would attack and thus were not negligent
The BC Supreme Court in Vancouver. Photo by NICK PROCAYLO /PNG
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A BC Supreme Court judge has found that the owners of a dog who bit a former friend’s face were not negligent and therefore did not have to pay damages to the victim.
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Vancouver woman Linda Evans couldn’t prove dog owners Erin Berry and Sophie Anderson knew the animal was potentially dangerous, according to a ruling by Judge Maria Morellato.
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The verdict came under the science of science, which assumes that domesticated animals are harmless and that liability for an attack requires proof that the defendant knew that the animal in question was prone to cause the kind of harm it was intended to cause plaintiff added.
In her ruling, Morellato wrote that on November 11, 2017, Evans went to a dinner party at Berry and Anderson’s home in Vancouver’s West End.
Towards the end of the evening, as the guests were getting ready to say goodbye, Evans bent down to pet the dog – Bones – and was suddenly attacked.
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The bite resulted in significant blood loss, with the wound having a crescent shape on Evan’s forehead, with a laceration on her cheekbone. The doctor who treated her found that a muscle was exposed.
The dog – a three-legged mongrel from Thailand – was euthanized shortly after the attack.
After the breakdown of their friendship, Evans sued Berry and Anderson in court, demanding that they be found negligent and liable for loss of earning capacity, loss of household abilities, the cost of future care, and special damages.
Berry and Anderson’s defense was that while Bones was unlucky in attack, he wasn’t prone to injury. They also argued that they were not liable because the damage could not have been foreseen.
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According to Morellato, the defendants also claimed that Evans was “the author of their own unhappiness.”
The court heard that Berry and Anderson bought the dog in the spring of 2017 and that he had pinched people and other dogs, resulting in him receiving obedience training. The dog also bit Berry’s father when he was handed a piece of cheese on toast.
“The evidence I have shows that Bones exhibited pinching behavior at the ankles or legs,” Morellato wrote. “There have also been a few instances where Bones has been aggressive towards other dogs. However, Ms. Berry testified that Bone’s behavior improved after his training with the Dog Dudes. There was no evidence of aggression towards other dogs or incidents of being pinched after this training.
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“Plaintiff’s attorney emphasizes that the ‘cheese toast’ incident with Ms. Berry’s father took place after Bones’ training with the Dog Dudes and states that this is evidence of an ongoing tendency (to biting). After carefully reviewing the matter, I have concluded that this incident involving Ms. Berry’s father, in the context of the evidence as a whole, does not prove that Bones was a source of danger or that he had an apparent tendency to bite or cause harm, or that he was “used” to it or used to it. Of course, while this incident deserves careful consideration, it cannot be viewed in isolation without considering the evidence as a whole.”
Morellato wrote that because Berry and Anderson had previously hired a canine behavior expert and neither a veterinarian nor the expert had recommended that the dog be muzzled, they had provided an appropriate standard of care.
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“The evidence taken as a whole does not support the conclusion that Ms. Anderson knew that Bones had such a propensity to bite,” she wrote.
“On the night of the dinner party, before the injury, Bones was described as an ‘angel’ and those present were clearly comfortable around him. Furthermore, the defendants certainly did not imply or imply at trial that they knew that Bones was prone to causing the type of damage done.”
Morellato denied Evans’ claims.
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