Title: PetSmart, Inc. v. District Court
Citation: 137 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 75
Docket Number: 
State: Nevada
Issuer: Nevada Supreme Court
Date: December 9, 2021

PetSmart, Inc. v. District Court Annotate this Case Justia Opinion Summary The Supreme Court held that a pet store may not be held liable under tort law where a dog adopted at the store through an adoption event conducted by an independent charitable organization later attacks and injures an individual if the pet store did not assume a duty of care or have an agency relationship with the charitable organization that conducted the adoption event. James Todd was attacked by a dog adopted by his wife two days before from an independent pet-rescue organization holding an adoption event at a PetSmart store. The Todds sued PetSmart, among other defendants, for negligence, negligent infliction of emotional distress, and respondent superior. The district court denied PetSmart's motion for summary judgment, holding that PetSmart owed a duty to the Todds as a matter of law. The Supreme Court granted a writ of mandamus sought by PetSmart, holding that PetSmart did not owe a duty of care to the Todds as a matter of law and that there was no genuine issue of fact regarding any alleged agency relationship between PetSmart and the charitable organization. Read more Want to stay in the know about new opinions from the Supreme Court of Nevada? Sign up for free summaries delivered directly to your inbox. Learn More › You already receive new opinion summaries from Supreme Court of Nevada. Did you know we offer summary newsletters for even more practice areas and jurisdictions? Explore them here . Opinion Annotation Download PDF Primary Holding The Supreme Court held that a pet store may not be held liable under tort law where a dog adopted at the store through an adoption event conducted by an independent charitable organization later attacks and injures an individual if the pet store did not assume a duty of care or have an agency relationship with the charitable organization that conducted the adoption event. Disclaimer: Justia Annotations is a forum for attorneys to summarize, comment on, and analyze case law published on our site. Justia makes no guarantees or warranties that the annotations are accurate or reflect the current state of law, and no annotation is intended to be, nor should it be construed as, legal advice. Contacting Justia or any attorney through this site, via web form, email, or otherwise, does not create an attorney-client relationship. PetSmart, Inc. v. District Court Primary Holding The Supreme Court held that a pet store may not be held liable under tort law where a dog adopted at... Read the full annotations for this case. Webinars You Might Like: Please visit individual webinar pages for more information about CLE accreditation.