QUESTION

If adult daughter's dog jumps 5' fence, reported causes damage is homeowners policy cover?

Asked on Jul 15th, 2015 on Personal Injury - Montana
More details to this question:
My daughter (23) has a ridgeback-mix dog that was with her when she visited. While my daughter was with the dog in the back yard, it ran and jumped the 5' fence to our neighbor's to chase their little poodle, in a non-aggressive way, with my daughter chasing right behind her. Her dog actually chased the little dog into the kitchen through the open sliding door, and was out of my daughter's sight for 2-4 seconds. When my daughter entered the kitchen, she saw the little dog jump over a small gate out of the kitchen and immediately grabbed her dog. The wife in the house was concerned because the little dog had just been spayed, but was relieved to see no physical damage caused by the chase. Later that night, the husband came over to my house and said that while the little dog is fine, their kitchen floor was severely damaged by the larger dog, saying that the "minutes" it was allowed to run around caused deep gouges in the floor. Since this family also has a very large full size poodle actually larger than my daughter's dog, I don't know how they could tell what damage was caused by what dog and when. Primary question: does my homeowner policy apply to this even though it's not my dog? Secondly, is it reasonable to expect a 10-second incident to warrant a contribution to a floor refinishing to a 6-yr old floor in a multi-dog household? Thanks.
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7 ANSWERS

First read your homeowner's policy. Since they can differ, you'll have to rely on it for your information about what it covers, or perhaps you'll want to call your agent. Often policies do cover you against injury done 'by' your houseguests. In a lawsuit by the neighbour against you, he'd have the burden of proving by a preponderance of the credible evidence that your (daughter's) dog caused the damage. This may be hard to do. On the other hand, you or your daughter did have the legal responsibility to keep the ridgeback mix under control. I doubt anyone is going to sue you. Put it to your insurance company and see what they say.
Answered on Jul 16th, 2015 at 4:20 PM

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Ronald A. Steinberg
Your daughter's dog; your daughter's problem. It will NOT be covered by YOUR homeowner's insurance because 1) you have no responsibility for the dog, and 2) the incident did not occur on your property. Your daughter should have kept a leash on the dog; obviously this was behavior previously exhibited.
Answered on Jul 16th, 2015 at 9:12 AM

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James Eugene Hasser
Call your agent and ask him or her.
Answered on Jul 15th, 2015 at 5:22 PM

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Personal Injury Attorney serving Pasadena, CA at Law Offices of Pius Joseph
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The claim seems suspicious . First do not get the insurance involved and see if it is a minor matter than you can resolve within your deductible , if not, then you have to weigh the option to involve the insurance . Make sure you consult a liability lawyer before you settle with the neighbor.
Answered on Jul 15th, 2015 at 4:36 PM

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Edwin K. Niles
One would have to review the policy in order to respond; there is no such thing as a standard policy. The owner of a dog is strictly liable for the actions of the dog.
Answered on Jul 15th, 2015 at 4:36 PM

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Thomas Edward Gates
You need to check with your insurance company on whether you are covered. It is unlikely your dog did the damage. Get a lawyer!
Answered on Jul 15th, 2015 at 4:14 PM

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Plaintiff Animal Bites Attorney serving Missoula, MT at Bulman Law Associates PLLC
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Call your insurance agent and ask him how to report a claim. The adjuster will tell you if there is coverage for a visitor's pet. The alleged damage sounds exaggerated but let you insurance company deal with it.
Answered on Jul 15th, 2015 at 4:05 PM

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