Legal Question in Civil Rights Law in California
Man stabs dog 4 times
A friend of mine owns an American Bull dog and he is quite a friendly dog, but intimidating by his size. He got out of the yard for approx 5 minutes. When he returned to the side yard he was bleeding terribly from the neck and back due to beig stabbed by a neighbor. The police and the animal control depts refuse to give her any information regarding the man who commited this horrific act against this animal. Vet bills exceed $1,500. and thank goodness he has healed completely (except his wanting to leave the yard!) but she would like to file suit against this man to pay for the pain and suffering of all involved. How can we get the information to proceed and who do we contact .. or is it even possible??
3 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Man stabs dog 4 times
I assume the man will claim self defense, and could sue the dog owner if he wants to. You have no evidence in defense to such claim. Leave well enough alone, and keep your dogs controlled and out of other people's property. You're 'lucky' the dog wasn't killed when it went on his property and 'attacked' him.
Re: Man stabs dog 4 times
I assume the man will claim self defense, and could sue the dog owner if he wants to. You have no evidence in defense to such claim. Leave well enough alone, and keep your dogs controlled and out of other people's property. You're 'lucky' the dog wasn't killed when it went on his property and 'attacked' him. You always had the choice to inexpensively 'put down' the dog instead of paying such high bills.
Re: Man stabs dog 4 times
I've never done this, but I don't see why you can't file suit against fictitiously-named individuals (i.e. DOES 1 through 10), and then subpoena police and animal control records to obtain his identity. Then you substitute the person's real name for DOE 1 and serve him with the lawsuit. However, if you do it in small claims court, the relatively short time frame to trial will make it impossible to obtain compliance with the subpoena.
Alternatively, you might be able to do a freedom of information request to a public agency for the specific information. You might also contact lawyers who handle animal rights issues to assist you in your quest. I'm glad to hear your companion has healed.
Related Questions & Answers
Looking for something else?
10,200 active attorneys ready to answer your legal questions today.
Featured Attorneys
Earn additional revenue and grow your business.
