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Personal Injury
Premises Liability
Dog Bite

Gail Thomas v. Mary Smith, Lawrence Smith, and Does 1 to 25

Published: Sep. 8, 2017 | Result Date: Aug. 10, 2017 | Filing Date: Apr. 29, 2016 |

Case number: BC618805 Summary Judgment –  Defense

Judge

Yolanda Orozco

Court

Los Angeles County Superior Court


Attorneys

Plaintiff

Mark Gonzales
(Law Offices of Mark Gonzales)


Defendant

Tejas B. Patel
(Ford, Walker, Haggerty & Behar LLP)


Facts

Gail Thomas sued Mary Smith and Lawrence Smith, in connection with a dog-biting incident.

Contentions

PLAINTIFF'S CONTENTIONS: Defendants' dog allegedly attacked and bit plaintiff at defendants' residence. Plaintiff claimed defendants failed to restrain their dog, and sued them for premises liability.

DEFENDANTS' CONTENTIONS: Defendants denied owning the dog. Defendants also denied having any knowledge of the dog's alleged dangerous propensities. Overall, defendants claimed that they, as landlords, could not be held liable for conditions they lacked control over.

Result

The court granted the Smiths' motion for summary judgment because they neither owned the dog that bit Thomas nor were there sufficient facts showing that they had any knowledge of the dog's alleged dangerous propensities.


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