Legal Question in Family Law in North Carolina
issues with a dog scratching up another owners car
Myself and a fellow marine were deployed for seven months. The other marine decided to park his car in the backyard of a friends house. My wife moved back to the area from her home while I was gone in preperation for my return home. Our dog (lab/hound) mix got on top of the car several times and by simply walking on the car (since it was in the backyard) it scratched it up. Nothing to serious. Now, nearly 5 months later he brings up that he wants it fixed and that if it is not fixed by Mar. 1st then he will get a lawyer. However, he himself has never said a word to me , the several times that I have seen him, because he has been talking through the ppl that have the houser that the car and dog were at. My questiong is this. Am I legally liable for fixing his car. Not morally, but legally. And if so how much do I have to pay, if anything?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: issues with a dog scratching up another owners car
Some questions:
(1) Who owns the property on which the car was parked?
(2) Was there an agreement to allow the car owner to park the car there and if so, was a fee paid to store and secure the safety of the car ( a bailee/bailor relationship)?
(3) Was the dog trespassing on the property owner's property or are the dog's owned by the property owner?
If an agreement was made to store the car for a fee, the bailee had a duty to protect the property and may be liable for the damage to the car even if the dogs are not owned by the bailee under a theory of negligence.
The owners of the dogs could be liable under a theory of negligence or trespass to chattels.
Finally, a counterclaim could recover the quantum meriut value of the services as bailee.
Legally, under any scenario of liability, it should be costly to bring an action and costly to defend unless it is dealt with in small claims court.
Hopefully, you and your friends can work it out without a lawsuit and without attorneys.
If not, get an attorney and if possible, find a legitimate counterclaim from which you can zero out their claim, if possible.
Best wishes,
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