Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California

Dog/cat fight

I brought my new pit bull mix dog to my workplace where a cat lived. My boss permitted me to keep the dog there as it was leashed to a fence outside his back fenced-off porch, in a back lot. As we were moving things from the porch to the lot, my boss propped the door open to make it easier, knowing that my dog was on the other side. As we were finishing up, his cat roamed out to the porch and encountered my dog. As I was not watching her at the moment, the dog bit through her leash and bit the cat in the leg, causing injury to the cat. My boss wants me to pay 100% of the vet bills for the cat, totalling around $3000. Am I liable to pay this? Or am I only liable for half, since it was negligence on both parties? He LET his cat wander around, knowing that it could walk out the back door where my dog was leashed, subjecting itself to harm.


Asked on 6/07/06, 7:49 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Edward Hoffman Law Offices of Edward A. Hoffman

Re: Dog/cat fight

Your question is a bit ambiguous. You say that your dog "bit through her leash", which suggests that she otherwise would not have been able to reach the cat. On the other hand, you say that the boss knew the cat could have been harmed if it walked out the back door, which suggests that even with the leash intact the dog still would have been able to reach the cat.

Cats are intelligent and most will stay away from a large, unfamiliar dog if they can -- especially if the dog appears hostile. Letting his cat wander around near a dog that is tied up was not negligent unless the boss should have known that it would necessarily pass through the dog's range.

On the other hand, using a leash which was too weak to restrain your dog probably was negligent. If the only reason the dog was able to reach the cat was that she bit through her leash and escaped, then you are probably at fault for having failed to adequately restrain her.

If she would have been able to get to the cat while tied up then your boss is at least partially responsible, though the extent of his responsibility depends upon whether the cat could have escaped and avoided some of his injuries had your dog remained tied up.

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Answered on 6/13/06, 7:14 pm


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