Dog Bite / Animal Control Act & Animals Running at Large

Our office represented a dog owner who invited the injured person into their home where several dogs were present. The injured person claimed one of the dogs bit her face during a period of play. Ultimately, the dog owner died during the pendency of the lawsuit. The trial court granted summary judgment in favor of the Defendant dog owner, where it was determined that the injured person could not prove the elements of the Animal Control Act.

Tom represented a dog owner in a McLean County mandatory arbitration dispute where the Plaintiff had minimal injuries, but a demand of $100,000. The matter proceeded to mandatory arbitration with a three-person panel of arbitrators. The Arbitration Award was less than $5,000. The Plaintiff ultimately accepted a settlement offer consistent with the arbitration award.

John Fleming represented a police chief and police department, in this case where a dog, previously reported to be vicious, bit a man on the arm and severed his nerve, causing loss off use of the hand. The trial judge ruled in favor of John’s clients, dismissing this dog bite case in the trial court.

John Fleming defended a dog owner in an alleged “dog attack” case, where the injured plaintiff, a teenager, was scared by a black pit bull dog in her neighborhood, ran, fell, and broke her leg.  The defense was a case of mistaken identity of the pit bull dog.  There were three families in the neighborhood that owned black pit bull dogs.  The injured teenager claims she only saw the pit bull in question for a few seconds, in the evening hours, turned and ran.  John’s client claimed he was not home at the time of the alleged incident, and his dog was always locked inside the house until he returned home from work.  The defense was supported with testimony and work schedules establishing that he was at work when the pit bull in question was loose.  The defense had to overcome the fact that the defendant’s mother-in-law admitted to paying a fine on an ordinance violation for the dog in question “running at large” – but she testified at trial that she only did this to keep peace in the neighborhood.  The jury returned a not guilty verdict in favor of John’s client.