Driver kills dog, then sues owners for damage

[DarkFury]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24530214/



Driver kills dog, then sues owners for damage
Jeffery Ely hit the miniature pinscher when the dog ran onto the road

Associated Press
May. 8, 2008

DULUTH, Minn. - The driver of a 1997 Honda Civic that struck and killed a dog near Cloquet is suing the dog's owners for damage done to his vehicle.

Jeffery Ely was driving on the night of Jan. 4 when Fester, a miniature pinscher, squeezed past owner Nikki Munthe as she was letting in her other dog and ran out onto the road. Ely's car struck Fester, killing the 13-pound dog instantly.

Now Ely is suing the Munthes for about $1,100 for damage to his car, time he had to take off from his two jobs to get the car repaired, and court fees.

Pieces of the bumper were propelled into the radiator when it hit the dog, Ely said, necessitating a replacement. Ely maintains he didn't have problems driving until after the accident and that the radiator issues were not pre-existing.

Ely said he feels sorry for the Munthes' loss but, as a dog owner himself, feels that they must be responsible for their pets' actions.

"I have complete compassion for them," Ely said. "I know how it feels. I love dogs. But once you get them, they are your responsibility."

Munthe said she has always been worried about the busy road the family lives on.

"We would have never let him off-leash because we're so terrified of this road," she said.

The case will be heard in St. Louis County Court on Friday.

The Munthes have filed a $2,400 countersuit against Ely for the cost to buy Fester, the time they had to take off work for court appearances, and the cost of buying a dog to replace Fester.


C'mon now... a 13 pound dog did THAT much damage... DAYUUUUM!!!!!

Honda Civics must really be fragile.

Anyways, wouldn't the comprehensive insurance cover this? I don't think that the dog's owners will win their counter-suit since their dog was at fault (the guy didn't intentionally run the dog down by the report).

I guess we'll have to see what the courts say about the car's damages.

[The Happy Squirrel]

hehe i saw this thread and thought wow that just happened here where i live what are the odds, opened it and wow it is the same one hehe i need to get out more anyway update:

http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/articles/index.cfm?id=66178&section=News


Judge dismisses lawsuit against family of dog killed on highway
Nina Petersen-Perlman Duluth News Tribune
Published Friday, May 09, 2008

A St. Louis County judge threw out a case today in which a man sued a dog’s owners for damages to his car after he hit and killed the animal.

Judge Gerald Maher heard the conciliation court case brought by Jeffery Ely of Cloquet against Daniel Munthe, whose 13-pound miniature pinscher Fester was killed in January. Both parties represented themselves.

Neither side could prove the other had been negligent, Maher said, so instead of taking the case under advisement he dismissed it.

RELATED CONTENT
Nina Petersen-Perlman Archive
“You don’t have a legal cause of action,” Maher said. “You never should have been here.”

The testimony was emotional at times, especially when Daniel Munthe’s wife Niki Munthe teared up when recalling retrieving Fester’s body from the road.

“He killed our dog,” she said. “Our dog had a soul. His car didn’t. His car is repairable. A soul is not.”At about 8 p.m. on Jan. 4, Niki Munthe said she was letting her other dog in from outside when Fester squeezed past her legs and escaped. Ely was driving the posted speed limit of 55 mph along Morris Thomas Road north of Cloquet at the same time, he said.

When Niki Munthe saw Fester was heading for the road, she said she started yelling at him to return. Her cries intensified when she realized Ely’s car was headed straight for Fester, but Ely didn’t see the mostly black dog until it was too late to slam on his breaks. After hitting Fester, Ely turned around and used his car’s headlights to help the Munthes find his body.

It was only upon driving home that he noticed his temperature gauge was out of whack, Ely said. Fester’s impact on the front end of his 1997 Honda Civic caused pieces of the bumper to lodge into the radiator, he said.

The repairs would cost about $1,000, according to two estimates Ely received. Ely returned to the Munthes’ house with his father two days later and requested help paying for the repairs, which the Munthes refused.

Ely’s liability insurance wouldn’t cover the damages, he said, so he sued the Munthes for $1,029 to cover the cost of his repairs, time he had to take off work and court fees. The Munthes had entered a $2,400 countersuit for the time they had missed from work, as well as costs to cremate Fester and buy a replacement dog. That suit was also dismissed.

Though the city of Cloquet imposes leash laws, they wouldn’t apply in this case since the Munthes live outside city limits. The code is intended for people walking their dogs, said Cloquet Police Chief Wade Lamirande, and say that no person should permit an animal to run at large. Since the Munthes did not intend Fester to run outside unleashed, Lamirande said the code probably wouldn’t apply even if they lived within Cloquet proper.

Both parties had originally agreed to settle their case on CBS’ “Judge Joe Brown” after the show’s producers contacted Ely and offered free trips to California and appearance fees. Since the paperwork had not yet gone through at the St. Louis County court, the Munthes were told to appear at their scheduled March court date.

Ely didn’t attend because he thought they were still going on the television show. The case was rescheduled to today.

Since the News Tribune first covered the case in Wednesday’s paper, news outlets all over the United States and Canada have picked up the story. Ely said the deluge of coverage has “ruined his reputation.”

“The dog shouldn’t have been there,” he said. “Roads are for cars, not for dogs.”

Ely said he fixed his radiator himself for $120, but doesn’t have money to repair the bumper. He said he doesn’t plan to appeal.

[Daedalus]

I think the judge is wrong.

[mojo]

as far as the OP is concerned, i wonder what the guy would have said if it was a kid that ran into the street.

the dog ran out of the house, so it must have been a residential neighborhood. when driving around homes like this, one must always look out for such things. i dunno how fast he was going, but if a 13 pound dog did that kind of damage, i doubt he was doing 25 mph. plus if he was doing 25 mph, he should have been able to stop relatively quickly upon seeing something run into his path.

i agree, he should go thru his insurance.

[renovation]

im glad it turned out like it did. i think the courts need to stop allowing some of these crazy law suits.the ones with no merit to be heard. and i also bereave lawyers like CALL SAM should be pulled off the tv and radio. if you don't think there costing us the tax payers millions every year. think again were paying for it in higher prices in every thing you buy. i know a guy who sued his church and his ministry told him to make the claim. the minister said you be suing the insurance company and the church wouldn't even fight it. the guy sued because he slipped on the rock salt that was put down to melt the ice that formed on the sidewalk. he know it was slick out and he seen them put the salt down. infact he was the one who put the salt down on the sidewalk . now tell me whats wrong with this picture.

[cheapie]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p12x52UzJsc

interesting biker vs. dog judge judy youtube vid

[thresher]

My buddy Mark hit a big dog (can't remember what kind) in South Austin a few years ago in his Porsche. The owners of the dog had to pay for the damage to the car but not time lost etc. Dog didn't die, but was an expensive fix. I guess it depends on dog laws in your community.

[mojo]

i hit a pot hole and bent a rim, and the city didn't pay for sh*t. and the thing jumped right out in front of me :angry:

[chadlnc]

as far as the OP is concerned, i wonder what the guy would have said if it was a kid that ran into the street.

the dog ran out of the house, so it must have been a residential neighborhood. when driving around homes like this, one must always look out for such things. i dunno how fast he was going, but if a 13 pound dog did that kind of damage, i doubt he was doing 25 mph. plus if he was doing 25 mph, he should have been able to stop relatively quickly upon seeing something run into his path.

i agree, he should go thru his insurance.

According to the second article this was not a typical residential street, the speed limit was 55MPH. It also sounded like he only has liability insurance, so he can't get compensation from them. I think this should go on the dog owners home insurance policy.

[gwilks98]

I'm torn on this case. On one hand, it could have easily been a deer that hit his car. Just because another party was involved, doesn't make them liable.
On the other hand, I do feel the owners were negligent. Any dog that bolts for the door needs to be trained immediately on not to do that. Period. That's where I see the negilgence: not in the actual act of their dog getting out on a one time occurrence. Shame on them for blaming the driver for killing their dog.

I would see a 50% judgement fair for the driver's suit.

[Maarchk]

I think the judge is wrong.
Could you be less informative on what you mean?:spock:



I'm torn on this case. On one hand, it could have easily been a deer that hit his car. Just because another party was involved, doesn't make them liable.
Umm, if a dear was what hit your car, i'm pretty sure the deer is liable, it just doesn't have insurance or a responsible party...

What if another car hit your car... that doesn't make them liable?

[Daedalus]

Could you be less informative on what you mean?:spock:

The dog owners are liable. The end result was well within the realm of forseeable results, which is a big factor in determining fault. Don't let the dog out because it could...(fill in the blank). If the dog had bitten someone, would the owners not be liable? How about if the dog tore up a neighbor's yard? If the dog had run away, would anyone be shocked? The driver must have made a very poor case to not have been awarded basic damages for repairing his car. Time off from work seems reasonable too, if slightly more difficult to justify. I'm not sure about court costs.
As far as a 13 pound dog doing much damage, a bowling ball weighs about 13 pounds too--imagine running into one of those. Sure, the dog absorbs more of the energy, but messing up a bumper and radiator seems pretty feasible, even at more moderate speeds than 55mph.

[gwilks98]

Could you be less informative on what you mean?:spock:



Umm, if a dear was what hit your car, i'm pretty sure the deer is liable, it just doesn't have insurance or a responsible party...

What if another car hit your car... that doesn't make them liable?

I file the dog under the category of "foreign object on the playing field." It's like getting hit by a falling piece of hail, in my opinion: a known hazard when driving on the road. It's like having a kid run out in a neighborhood after a ball: you should expect for things like that to happen in certain areas.

I don't grant the same exception to adults behind a licensed vehicle. That's how I view another car as different. Those drivers are expected to follow rules. Kind of hard to expect the animals to follow that same pattern.

Now, keep in mind, that's just the "On one hand" side of the argument. I know there's the other side of "the owner is responsible for their own dog" and I made that argument as well. I see both being valid points.