Title: Hunt v. Hazen, Adm.

State: oregon

Issuer: Oregon Supreme Court

Document:

Reversed and remanded March 4, 1953.
Petition for rehearing denied March 25, 1953.
*638 Walter J. Cosgrave, of Portland, argued the cause for appellant. With him on the brief were Maguire, Shields, Morrison & Bailey, of Portland.
Paul J. Jolma, of Clatskanie, argued the cause and filed a brief for respondent.
Before LATOURETTE, Chief Justice, and WARNER, ROSSMAN and PERRY, Justices.
REVERSED AND REMANDED.
PERRY, J.
This is an action for damages brought by the plaintiff Clara Hunt to recover from the defendant G.L. Hazen, as administrator of the estate of Gertrude A. Hattan, deceased.
The plaintiff sustained personal injuries when she was bitten by a dog, admittedly vicious. The dog had been owned and kept by Mr. Hattan, who predeceased his wife, the defendant's intestate, by a month or two. The question submitted for determination by the jury was whether or not the defendant's intestate was at the time of the injury the owner, keeper, or harborer of the dog.
After the parties had rested, the defendant moved the court for an order directing a verdict on his behalf. Upon denial of the motion and an adverse verdict by *639 the jury, the defendant appealed, assigning such denial as error.
1. There is no statute in this state fixing liability for injuries to a human being suffered by the actions of a vicious dog. The determination of the question of the person or persons liable for injuries so suffered rests with the common law.
2. The gist of an action for damages by a vicious dog, whose propensities are known, is not negligence in the manner of keeping the dog; it is keeping the dog at all; and, the action is founded upon the theory of maintenance of a nuisance, not negligence. Jaco v. Baker, 174 Or 191, 148 P2d 938.
Thus, the responsibility to respond in damages depends not upon who has legal title to the dog but rather upon the possessor of the animal.
As stated in Ingham, Law of Animals, p 405, § 96:
The rule is stated in 3 Restatement of the Law, Torts, p 22, § 509, as follows:
In 1 Restatement of the Law, Torts, p 551, § 216, the following is stated:
It is therefore unnecessary to determine in this case whether or not, under the evidence hereinafter set out, the defendant's intestate made a gift of the dog for the purpose of determining title ownership.
The sole question, therefore, to be determined is whether or not Mrs. Hattan was keeping or harboring the dog at the time of the injury.
3. Since we are considering the motion for a directed verdict after a verdict of the jury for the plaintiff, we must consider the evidence with all of its intendments in a light most favorable to the plaintiff and determine whether or not there is any substantial evidence to support the verdict.
The doctor who treated the plaintiff lived about a block or a block and one-half from the Hattan residence *641 and saw the dog at one time on his neighbor's lawn. He also saw the dog out in the country. Mrs. Staley, who was a neighbor of Mrs. Hattan, saw the dog frequently around the Hattan place. Another neighbor of the Hattans noticed the dog on the street or in the yard near the Hattan home and on one occasion had observed Mrs. Hattan in the yard with a tray of food calling the dog, trying to get it into the yard.
The burden of proof was upon the plaintiff, and it does not appear from the evidence when Mrs. Hattan was attempting to feed the dog, whether before or after the following incidents testified to by Mr. Adams:
The conversation with Mr. Adams and the removal of the dog to his premises, a mile and one-quarter away, all took place prior to the injury complained of by the plaintiff.
A "keeper" is defined as "a person who keeps; one who watches, guards," etc.; "one having custody." Webster's New International Dictionary, 2d ed.
*643 4. Keeping and harboring both necessarily imply an intent to exercise control over the animal and to provide food and shelter of at least a semi-permanent nature. To hold otherwise would make a person liable for injuries caused by animals attracted to their premises, through no overt act on the part of the householder; likewise a meal of mercy to a stray dog might lead to liability.
5. All the evidence in this case conclusively shows that there was no intention by Mrs. Hattan to either keep or harbor the dog. Every act attributed to her is quite the contrary. She threatened to have the dog killed. Mr. Adams offered to take the dog, and, on the occasion of each escape of the dog from the custody of Adams, she caused the dog to be returned. She was at all times endeavoring to rid herself of any care or control. The most that can be said for the plaintiff's case is that the dog, with its animal propensities, kept returning to the home of her former master and against the wishes of Mrs. Hattan.
We are of the opinion that the evidence in this case was insufficient to raise a question of fact as to Mrs. Hattan's keeping or harboring the dog, and the motion for a directed verdict should have been sustained.
The defendant complains of other errors in the trial of this cause, which, under the view taken by this court, are unnecessary to consider.
The cause is therefore reversed and remanded with instructions to enter judgment for the defendant.