Confidential
Settlement – $40,000Facts
On April 18, 1994, the plaintiff, a 40-year-old catering clerk, was in the process of unloading her vehicle on her premises, while allowing her boyfriend's dog to remain free on her property. The defendant was walking her two dogs, each on a separate leash, in front of the plaintiff's property. When the defendant's dogs saw the plaintiff's dog, the defendant's dogs began to pull the defendant across the sidewalk onto the plaintiff's property in order to play with the plaintiff's dog. The dogs began to play on the plaintiff's premises. One of the defendant's dogs began to growl and show its fangs. The plaintiff, in fear for her boyfriends' dog, stepped in between the dogs and tried to break up a potential fight. In the process of breaking up the dogs, one of the defendant's dogs bit the plaintiff on the ankle. The plaintiff fell backward on her buttocks at the time of the bite. The plaintiff brought this action against the defendant based on a strict liability claim per the Califoronia dog bite statute.
Settlement Discussions
The plaintiff made a C.C.P. º998 settlement demand for $40,000. The defendant accepted the C.C.P. º998 offer.
Specials in Evidence
$5,200
Injuries
The plaintiff claimed that she sustained four fang puncture wounds in her right ankle, and injured her lower back. She also claimed that it took approximately one year and six months for the wounds to recover to the point where scar revision was unnecessary. The plaintiff further claimed to suffer from intermittent lower back complaints requiring yearly examinations and physical therapy.
Other Information
The settlement was reached approximately two years and one month after the case was filed.
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