Legal Question in Personal Injury in Florida

We own a house in Florida, which we rent, but live and work in Washington State. We received a letter from an attorney in Florida stating that some woman sustained injuries from a pit bull attack on November 17th on our property. The attorney asked for our homeowners insurance.

In the letter, the attorney states "as you may be aware Ms xxx sustained serious injuries." We were not aware of the situation at all. The tenant never told the property manager that this incident took place or us, and as it turns out the woman is her sister.

We don't own a dog and the dog in question belongs to some neighbor on the same block that is not kept on a leash. I contacted our insurance company and our liability insurance does not cover dog bites and they will not pursue it any further. The tenant has her own insurance.

The property manager said that the sister is not putting in a claim against us but the people who own the pit bull. If this is the case, why did we receive a letter?

Are we still obligated to send this attorney a copy of our homeowners policy? The insurance company never gave us an answer to that one!

I have been stressing out about this because it isn't our fault but we have not received much help from the insurance company or anything in writing from the tenant's sister retracting the original letter sent.

Thank you for your help!


Asked on 1/11/12, 3:21 pm

3 Answers from Attorneys
David Slater David P. Slater, Esq.

Since you state you do not have insurance for this claim you should retain counsel to protect your interests. I handle these type cases. Attorneys for Injured parties make claims against all who are potentially responsible. Do not ignore this.

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Answered on 1/11/12, 4:14 pm
Michael Tobin Michael M. Tobin, P.A.

From the facts you related you should send the lawyer a copy of your insurance policy excluding coverage for dog damage. As you are not the owner of the dog you should have no liabiliy but you will need an attorney should suit be filed against you.to protect your interests. Does the lease require the tenant to maintain liability insurance? That policy may not exclude the dog coverage. Get a copy from your tenant.

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Answered on 1/12/12, 8:45 am
Ruth Elizabeth Johnson Law Office of Ruth E. Johnson

A personal injury lawyer may be of great assistance in your legal matter. This may be important in assessing your true exposure risk in this matter

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Answered on 1/16/12, 6:39 pm


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