Articles — dog bite

In my very first post on this site, found here, I wrote about the 2012 case of Benningfield v. Zinsmeister in which the Kentucky Supreme Court interpreted the state’s dog-bite statutes in such a way as to hold landlords liable for injuries caused by dogs that they permit to be cared for or housed on their property if the dog causes damage on the property or within immediate physical reach of the property. The relevant liability statute, found here, holds owners liable for injuries and damages caused by their dog, and the Court interpreted the definition of “owner” to include...

In my last post, our property manager, Noah, from Stoops Pavilion had given written notice to his resident, Jennifer, that she would be allowed to have a support animal as a reasonable accommodation for her disability. Noah granted Jennifer’s request for the animal based on the letter from her therapist stating that her disability created a need for the dog in order to allow her to use and enjoy her apartment. Noah’s notice to Jennifer had asked her to come to the management office to show him the dog and to sign a lease addendum outlining the rights and obligations...

LANDLORDS ARE NOW LIABLE FOR FIDO AND CUJO There’s an old saying that the world consists of two kinds of people: those who love dogs and those who don’t. This creates a bit of a conundrum for landlords: do I open my property to dogs and other pets and risk additional damage to my property, or do I create a no-pet policy and risk losing a significant portion of the potential resident pool? Since 2012, there’s been a new factor to consider in your decision-making: increased landlord liability for injuries from dog bites. Until mid-2012, landlords didn’t have to worry...