Legal Question in Personal Injury in Florida

Hi there thanks for providing such a great service. I have a legal question for you today that I am not able to come to a conclusion about. My wife was at a friends house who lives in Manatee county FL. She had brought our dog with her and they were playing in the fenced in back yard of our friends house. Some noise spooked our dog and he took off at full speed and broke through the fence. On the other side of the fence was moving traffic he was subsequential hit and hospitalized. We ended up putting him down due to his massive injuries sustained by the accident. Now a month later the owner of the cars insurance carrier (state farm) is trying to sue us for the damages to their clients car (the lady that hit and killed our dog). Are we liable for the damages to her car? I know Manatee county Fl has a leash law that says owners must be in control of their dog at all times. However does this count as one of those acts of god clauses that companies love to throw in their policies? I mean the property was fenced in, just the force of the dog running so fast broke through the fence. Please help.


Asked on 8/15/12, 8:41 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
David Burns David H. Burns, P. A.

Act Of God refers to such events as lightning, floods, etc. This would not be considered an Act Of God. Your home-owners insurance policy has a personal liability coverage (usually $100,000) that should pay for the damage to the car, unless the policy specifically excludes liability for either (1) the specific breed of dog involved; (2) dogs in general; or (3) animals in general. Otherwise, it would be an issue of whether your wife was negligent under the circumstances. Since the dog was not on a leash, the nature and adequacy of the fence will be an issue. The type of claim you describe is called a subrogation claim and most insurance companies are willing to negotiate regarding the amount of the claim.

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Answered on 8/15/12, 9:03 am


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