Thursday, January 24, 2013
Bills in the House of Delegates and Senate would create a new standard where all dog owners are presumed liable for dog attacks, regardless of the breed of the animal.
Legislation overriding a Maryland Court of Appeals ruling that made landlords liable for pit bull attacks, and put owners at risk of being evicted or having to give up their dogs, will be heard Wednesday by the House Judiciary Committee. Identical House and Senate bills seek to create a new standard where all dog owners in civil action cases, regardless of the dog’s breed, are presumed liable for attacks unless owners can prove they did everything possible to avoid the attack, said Sen. Brian Frosh, sponsor of the Senate bill. It would also reverse the strict liability on landlords. “The interest groups: pet owners, landlords, and animal rights groups are pleased with it,” said Frosh, a Montgomery County Democrat who is also chairman of …
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
Court removes references to pit bull mixes while leaving owners and landlords responsible for injuries caused by pure-bred dogs.
UPDATED (4:27 p.m.)—The Maryland Court of Appeals will not reconsider an April decision in which it ruled that pit bull dogs are"inherently dangerous." Judge Alan Wilner, in a nine-page decision issued Tuesday, denied the motion for reconsideration with one caveat. (The full decision is attached to this story.) "That said, having re-read the briefs, relevant portions of the record extract, and the dissent, I am now convinced that, on the record before us, the application of the Court’s holding of strict liability to cross-bred pit bulls was both gratuitous and erroneous," wrote Wilner. "I would grant the motion for reconsideration, in part, to delete any reference to cross-bred pit bulls, so that the Court’s holding would apply only to pit…
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
Senate adopts gaming bill amended by the House but ends the session without bringing dog bite litigation bill to the floor for a vote.
Maryland voters can add expanded gaming to the list of referendum issues they'll be asked to vote on in November. The Senate early Wednesday morning voted 32-14 to accept a gaming bill amended hours earlier by the House of Delegates. But a bill meant to overturn a controversial Court of Appeals ruling that declared pit bulls an inherently dangerous dog breed failed after Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller said the House gave senators a "take it or leave it" ultimatum. "The House said take our amendments or nothing and the two committees weren't able to work out an agreement," said Miller. The Senate was able to reach a separate peace on the gaming bill where senators quickly agreed to all of the amendments delegates put on the bill …
Friday, August 10, 2012
A bill to overturn April's Maryland Court of Appeals decision on dog bites will get a vote in both houses, but they may not have enough common ground to pass as law.
The fate of the pit bull legislation before the Maryland General Assembly remains uncertain as bills in the House and Senate appear headed in different directions. The split is over strict liability for dog owners. The bill passed by the Senate Friday night in a 41-1 vote includes strict liability with a few carved out exceptions for things like provocation and trespassing. Just down the street the House Judiciary Committee spent the better part of the afternoon with four different bills that would—at least in part—return owner liability to common law standards. Sen. Joseph Getty, a Republican who represents Carroll County and northern Baltimore County, was the loan vote against the Senate bill. "[Strict liability] sets a very high …
Thursday, May 31, 2012
The Senate and House majority leaders put the task force in writing on Wednesday.
The leaders of Maryland’s General Assembly have created a task force to study the recent court ruling on pit bulls, according to The Washington Post. The Maryland Court of Appeals ruled at the end of April that pit bulls were "inherently dangerous" and in the event of an attack, it was not necessary to prove that a pit bull had a history of violence; if the owner/landlord knew the dog was a pit bull or pit mix, that person is automatically liable for damages. "Right now, Maryland is the only state that has made this declaration with regard to pit bulls," Delegate Curt Anderson (D-Baltimore City), chair of the newly-created pit bull task force, said on WBAL Radio Thursday. _________________________________________________________ Want to…
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Protestors argued that pit bulls are being unfairly targeted by the Maryland Court of Appeals.
Annapolis resident Stehle Harris is afraid she won't have a home. As the owner of a bull terrier, Harris said the recent Maryland Court of Appeals opinion that pit bulls and pit bull crossbreeds are dangerous could lead to a slippery slope. The opinion also states that landlords can prohibit the dogs from their properties. "I think pit bulls capacity to do damage is no greater than a chihuahua," she said. "I'm more apprehensive about smaller dogs." Harris was one of a group of Marylanders protesting the court's opinion at Lawyer's Mall in Annapolis on Tuesday afternoon. Erin Harty, of Baltimore, said Harris' fears aren't unfounded. As a volunteer at Baltimore Animal Rescue and Care Shelter, she said the center is already being …
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Court of Appeals ruling won't change Animal Control procedures.
Howard County Animal Control will not change the way it handles pit bulls after a Court of Appeals ruling that labeled the dogs dangerous by nature, according to Howard County police. Animal Control, which runs shelters and adopts animals, is overseen by the Howard County Police Department. “Animal Control will continue its procedure of assessing each dog individually,” police spokeswoman Sherry Llewellyn wrote in an email. “Those pit bull and pit bull mixes assessed to be adoptable will be made available for adoption.” Two pit bulls were included in the list of adoptable animals distributed by Animal Control in May. On May 8, Llewellyn said the shelter had “no pit bulls in the facility.” Of the two advertised, “one pit bull was adopted,” …
Friday, May 4, 2012
The judiciary's opinion that pit bulls are violent should go through the legislature, says U.S. Humane Society.
The Maryland Court of Appeals' ruling declaring pit bulls inherently dangerous and holding their owners liable in the event of attack is opposed by the Humane Society, regional rescue groups and state lawmakers. “We believe that the court overstepped its authority,” said Betsy McFarland of the Humane Society of the United States. The court ruled last week that in a 2007 pit bull attack on a boy in Towson, the owner was liable on the grounds that pit bulls and pit bull mixes are inherently dangerous. By common law, persons trying to file suit against a dog owner would have to prove the dog in question had a history of violence. Now, if the owner or landlord has knowledge that the dog is pit bull or part pit bull, the owner or landlord is …
Monday, April 30, 2012
The Maryland Court of Appeals has ruled that owners of pit bulls are liable for damages caused by attacks by the breed.
If your pit bull attacks someone, don't expect much sympathy in court. An opinion recently released by the Maryland Court of Appeals states that you should have already known the breed was dangerous. Maryland pit bull owners are now facing increased liability in attack cases, following a ruling in Tracey v. Solesky. The case involved a pit bull named Clifford that attacked a minor, causing life-threatening injuries. "When an attack involves pit bulls, it is no longer necessary to prove that the particular pit bull or pit bulls are dangerous," wrote Judge Dale R. Cathell in the opinion. Cathell also stated that landlords have the right to prohibit pit bulls or pit bull cross-breeds from their property. A PDF of the opinion is attached in …
Real Estate Bulls
1:37 am on Thursday, April 18, 2013
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