Legal Question in Personal Injury in North Carolina

Re: Dog control in a community park

We need more information to provide a reliable answer to the question. (E.g. what is the "community"? Is it just a neighborhood of houses? Is it a condominium? Is there some homeowner's association? Are dogs allowed? Does the "community" really have any control over this dog? Does the dog have a dangerous propensity? What are the canine's "actions" about which you are concerned (e.g. digging up flowers, or attacking people)? Is the dog owned by a member, or is it some wild dog? If personal injury is the concern, then is the risk to members of the community, to their guests, or to other third-persons or trespassers? In what way does the community own the park? (Your question refers to "their" park.))

Anyway, I will assume this is a regular neighborhood, perhaps with some governing body (e.g. a HOA), and that the "park" is some "common area" accessible to all the members. At first blush, my inclination was that there was little or no exposure to liability. Upon further reflection, however, it seems that any persons with the ability to remedy the situation (e.g. a home owner or the HOA perhaps) may have exposure. The law generally imposes a duty on a landowner (or others in possession of land) to exercise reasonable care to protect others from harm. If there is some indication that the dog may do some harm (especially physical harm), and if no actions are taken (e.g. contacting animal control), then I suppose there could be some liability for those persons with control. (Also, anyone who contributes to the situation may be liable, such as someone feeding the dog.)

That's a tough question. You may want to consult a lawyer with more facts.