We rent an office in an area where there is "retail and non retail" offices. If a guy walks in unannounced into the office and my dog bites him, Civil Liability wise...would the guy that got bitten have a case? The door has a "no public restroom" sign on it, but no "Beware of Dog" sign. We usually keep the door locked, but just so happens as I was getting my stuff to leave... this idiot walked in without knocking. Just a side bit, he works for the movie theatre near us whom we collect their mail for them as a courtesy...new guy. thanks.
BTW, the guy didn't get bitten. But he was an asshole instead of apologizing for coming into my office unannounced. The fucker told me i need to keep him on a leash...in my office??? I told him, you should coming into my office unannounced.
Insurance is your best friend when you got a dog. Even if he didn't have a case, he could sue and it'll cost you tons.
you have to maintain control of your animal at all times. in 99.999% of cases the bitee gets paid, regardless of the situation. Ski
Thanks. I checked with the local law, they said it would depend on the circumstance. In this case, I wouldn't have face criminal charges. I wanted to punch the dude myself.
I would say that there's an expectation of not being bit or tripping or burning to death walking into your office. If I were to walk in and not be trespassing and I was bit you may find yourself negligent. That's the sea lawyer in me so YMMV
Would this fall under castle doctrine and the dog just being the means of protection? Could you argue that the individual was trespassing?
I would think that would require something such as a "no trespassing" or "private property" sign or something.
If you rent an office, first I would check the details of the lease for any provisions for pets. You could end up in violation of your lease and lose it for having the animal present. You also run the risk of having the property owner sued. Even in a private office environment, you still fall susceptible to inspections (OSHA, Fire Dept, DOL, etc..) because it is a workplace environment. As well, you have the property owner that can inspect as he/she has outlines in the lease. You will have the risk.
Would your dog be likely to bite someone that walked into the office unannounced? If so, you need to think about that aspect before bringing the dog to someplace that that could happen, regardless of if it is likely(you've already testified to the possibility).
Not a side bit at all - the "idiot" had a legitimate reason to come to your office, so there's no way you could claim trespass, no matter how "private" you think your office should be. Seems like he'd have an iron-clad case against you if your dog bit him. If you want to avoid litigation, and you want to keep your dog, leave him at home if he's even slightly inclined to be a biter.
not even close. "Castle" laws vary a bit by state, but virtually all require that you be 1) in a residence (not an office) and 2) you must still be acting in self-defense. You can't just attack someone who enters your home unless you have a legitimate belief that they pose a threat. Castle laws only remove a duty to retreat before resorting to force. as for arguing trespass, of course you can argue that. This would be an interesting case to try. Absent case law that's extremely on-point, I think it would depend on the jury. Let's not forget to have the alleged victim sue his employer for sending him into a hazardous environment without proper warning or instruction. To me, that honestly seems like the most culpable party here.
The Castle Doctrine applies to self defense. The question posed here is one of premises liability and dog bite liability. In most states, dog bites are strict liability. That means that if your dog injures somebody, you're on the hook for the damages... regardless. In Florida, you're going to be strictly liable for a dog bite to anyone who is lawfully in a public or private place. Thus, unless the person is a trespasser, the liability is there. I can't imagine many situations where a person who walks into a business office during business hours would be trespassing. (Disclaimer- Dits is only licensed to practice law in the State of Florida. Your results may vary in your state... which probably sucks. Because it's not Florida).
