May 8, 2008Driver kills dog, then sues ownersA Minnesota man is suing the family of a dog that he struck and killed with his 1997 Honda Civic for damage to his vehicle. Jeffery Ely was driving near Cloquet, Minn., the night of Jan. 4 when he struck Fester, a 13-pound miniature pinscher. Fester was killed instantly. Ely is attempting to recover $1,100 from Nikki Munthe, Fester's owner, for damage to his car, lost wages from time spent having the car repaired, and of course, court costs. According to a Fox News report, Nikki Munthe said she was letting her other dog into her house when Fester bolted through the open door. She was unable to stop him before he ran into the path of Ely's car. "We would have never let him off-leash because we're so terrified of this road," she is quoted. That does not matter to Ely, who is quoted saying he has compassion for the Munthe family, but they are responsible for their dog and thus, the damage to his property. The Munthe family has filed a countersuit seeking $2,400 for the loss of Fester, the cost of replacing their pet, and for wages they have lost due to court appearances. As much as we would all like to think we can control our pets and keep them safe, there are times when an animal acts out of its own instincts and does something random, like bolt into a street. While I don't think you can really blame a driver for not being able to avoid a pet running in the path of a car, it seems beyond vindictive to try to make the grieving family of the pet pay for the damage to the car. That's not my idea of compassion. What do you think? Is this something you could see yourself doing? |
.....Advertisement.....
|
...Advertisement...
...Advertisement...
Comments
[May 8, 2008 11:33 AM]
patrickSomebody should run over him,then sue his family for him being an idiot.
[May 8, 2008 12:29 PM]
Ed S.I'm assuming that the quotes in the story are factual, and the dog just bolted out.
For the purposes of the case, the fact that a family lost their beloved pet is irrelevant. Was the Munthe family responsible for the accident? I think not. Just as Nona said, animals act on their own sometime. This would be little different from a wild deer bolting in front of his car.
What kind of road did this occur on (what was the speed limit). A car would need to be driving at a good clip to cause much damage from a 13lb dog. Of course, most new cars (like Civics) are built like toys. Whose bright idea was it to remove bumpers and replace them with cheap body panels?
[May 8, 2008 2:15 PM]
Nona : →http://blogs.roanoke.com/thehappywag/I was wondering the same thing about the speed: a min pin is a pretty small dog to that much damage unless the fellow was traveling at a high rate of speed. Alas, there was no more information on the type of road, whether it is a traditional residential area, and the speed limit.
I just wonder what this guy would do if he hit a child who ran into the street. Sue the parents because they failed to contorl their kid and the child cracked his radiator?
[May 8, 2008 2:32 PM]
Heather FroeschlI'm thinking this guy must not have any pets to even think of suing the family because of this accident. It's not like the dog attacked his car and could be deemed dangerous. I'd bet the damage was done by something else beforehand and it wasn't even the small pups fault at all. All I can say about him is: ick.
[May 8, 2008 4:33 PM]
KimHonestly, we live in a lawsuit-happy society. Shame on the lawyers for even bringing that to court and especially shame on the driver for being a jerk. He's probably the type that would stab his own family in the back if he thought he'd get something monetary out of it. I hope he leaves the window down one day and someone puts a dog-produced "present" in the drivers seat!!
[May 9, 2008 8:39 AM]
DeborahThis guy is the type that would try and sue you if you looked at him the wrong way. He's just looking for money. A 13 pound dog vs. a 1997 car...please. If the court is actually handling a case like this, this country is in worse shape than I thought. Maybe everyone could sue the guy for being so cruel and heartless. He has no idea what compassion means. He is only out for money.
[May 9, 2008 9:37 AM]
DanaI agree that unless the dog's owner was letting her dog run wild all the time, then this is very similar to a deer running out in front of him. It seems his insurance should cover it. But I guess he must not have insurance. I hope karma gets him.
Other's mentioned what would he have done if it were a child, this made me think of something I had heard about just such a lawsuit. Some man hit and killed a kid and sued the family for damages to his car. I tried to find the story, but couldn't. It was a while back and I'm not sure it was in America.