When is a Landlord Responsible for a Dog Bite?
If you or someone you love suffered injuries due to a dog attack, it is important to retain a lawyer with experience in pursuing dog bite claims. This is especially true when the dog was owned by a renter rather than a homeowner. While the owner of the dog is strictly liable (responsible) for any injuries that the dog has caused, many times, the renter will not have adequate assets or insurance to pay for the damages. The question then becomes whether the renter’s landlord has any responsibility for the attack. If landlord responsibility can be proven, the insurance for the landlord will become available for monetary recovery.
Dog Bites and Owner Strict Liability
Dog owners have been “strictly liable” for any injuries caused by their dog since 1931 when the law was changed by the California Legislature. This law is covered in the California Civil Code Section 3342. Prior to the adoption of that law, a dog owner was only responsible if he or she knew the dog had vicious tendencies. The new law said regardless of whether it was known that the dog was vicious, if the dog bit a person who was lawfully on private property (or on public property), the dog owner is responsible for the victim’s injuries.
What About the Landlord?
Though Civil Code Section 3342 applies strict liability only to the owner of the dog, it is still possible to find a landlord liable for a dog bite from a tenant’s dog under the principles of premises liability. This attachment of responsibility relies on the landlord having knowledge of the dog’s vicious tendencies. If the property is commercial, finding liability is somewhat easier since a landlord is required to conduct regular inspections for dangerous conditions, and that would include the presence of a vicious dog.
The pertinent question is the degree of care that is required of a landlord to control his or her tenant’s dog. Under certain circumstances, a landlord will be determined to be negligent if a tenant’s dog bites someone. This circumstance could apply if, for example, the landlord does not make repairs to a fence or gate. It also may apply if the landlord was aware of the dog’s tendency to bite, and despite that knowledge allowed the dog to stay on the premises.
Establishing Landlord Dog Bite Liability on Private Property
Because the landlord’s responsibility for a tenant’s dog bite revolves around the knowledge of the dog’s vicious propensities, as well as the ability of the landlord to control the dog’s presence at the property, these are areas a good attorney will fully investigate and explore. The lease or rental agreement should be examined carefully for language regarding the pet policy. Other portions of the lease or rental agreement that should be carefully analyzed relate to the landlord’s rights to terminate the lease without cause, as this would determine the landlord’s ability to control the dog on the premises. Another avenue an experienced dog bite attorney will explore is attempting to establish the landlord’s knowledge of the animal’s history, including, of course, any prior vicious incidents.
A scenario under which actual knowledge of the dog’s vicious tendencies could be proven may be if a neighbor was bitten and reported the incident to the landlord. The prior victim’s testimony would establish the landlord’s actual knowledge of the dog’s vicious history. There is also a legal concept known as constructive knowledge that could establish negligence on the part of the landlord. Constructive knowledge means, essentially, that a reasonable person should have known of the dog’s vicious tendencies. Constructive knowledge has been established in California by indirect evidence – for example, a mail deliverer may encounter an aggressive and threatening dog every time he or she delivers to the home. Couple that mail carrier’s testimony with the fact that the landlord visited the property every month to collect rent could establish that the landlord had constructive knowledge that the dog’s disposition presented a dangerous condition.
Commercial Landlord Dog Bite Liability
It is easier to establish landlord liability for a dog bite that occurred on commercial property because the standard is a bit lower. The reason for the lower threshold is because landlords have more rights to access a commercial property than they do a private home. The landlord has a responsibility to inspect the commercial property for dangerous conditions. A vicious dog has been found to be a dangerous condition in prior court cases, and the court found that it was a dangerous condition of which the landlord would have been aware had there been regular inspections.
Courts Err in Favor of Landlord if Knowlege is Unclear
Because landlords are not strictly liable and can only be found responsible under the principle of general negligence, an attorney must be diligent in the investigation to establish proof of prior knowledge of viciousness. If a landlord can persuade a judge or jury that he or she never saw the dog, never visited the property, and never received any complaints about the dog, there will likely be a finding that there was no landlord negligence.
Additionally, as precedent currently stands, if a dog bites a person while the landlord is attempting to evict the tenant, the landlord will likely not be responsible. The fact that the landlord is in the process of evicting the tenant can be interpreted as a reasonable step to have the animal removed from the property.
Watch the YouTube Video. The video below discusses a few dog breeds considered “most dangerous.”
Sacramento Dog Bite Lawyer
I’m Ed Smith, a dog bite lawyer in Sacramento. If you were the victim of a vicious dog attack, call me for free and friendly advice. Depending on the facts of the incident, you may be entitled to monetary recovery from a property owner or landlord. My local number is (916) 921-6400 and I am also available toll-free at (800) 404-5400.
My law firm has worked diligently on behalf of injured Sacramento residents for more than 38 years. Follow the links below to see some of my prior client’s reviews:
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