Would the council be liable............

[Him & Her]

Hypothetical situation (for now)

Local council provides a "secure free running dog area" on a park
that is subject to dog control orders. Said area is fenced by
5ft metal railings and has 2 auto closing gates.

Several times during the last year the council has been notified
(by email) that there are sections where dogs are able to escape
under the fencing - emails have been acknowledged.

There are busy roads to 3 sides of this park, 2 of which are bus
routes. If a dog escapes under the fence from this "secure" area
and is injured and / or causes an accident, are the council
liable?

Cheers,

[Owain]

On Nov 11, 11:32 pm, "Him & Her" wrote:
> There are busy roads to 3 sides of this park, 2 of which are bus
> routes. If a dog escapes under the fence from this "secure" area
> and is injured and / or causes an accident, are the council
> liable?

IANAL.

Not to the driver for a car accident as (a) the driver is responsible
for controlling his vehicle at all times (b) owners are responsible
for controlling his dog.

However the council may have liability to the dog owner for (a) damage
to the dog (b) consequential loss resulting from the dog escaping
resulting in a claim against the dog owner.

Owain

[Jeff]

On 12/11/2012 00:25, Owain wrote:> On Nov 11, 11:32 pm, "Him & Her" wrote:
>> There are busy roads to 3 sides of this park, 2 of which are bus
>> routes. If a dog escapes under the fence from this "secure" area
>> and is injured and / or causes an accident, are the council
>> liable?
>
> IANAL.
>
> Not to the driver for a car accident as (a) the driver is responsible
> for controlling his vehicle at all times

That fact would not override any contributory negligence on behalf of
the owner or the council, if such negligence was a contributory factor
in the RTC.

>(b) owners are responsible
> for controlling his dog.

The same as above applies; if the council's negligence is found to be a
factor.

>
> However the council may have liability to the dog owner for (a) damage
> to the dog (b) consequential loss resulting from the dog escaping
> resulting in a claim against the dog owner.
>
> Owain
>

The point that you miss is that if the owner is aware that the compound
is insecure then letting the dog loose could be construed as
contributing the the accident, it would not just the the Council's
liability. Of course if a person did not know that there was an
insecurity, and the "secure" statement was made by the council and they
did nothing to rectify the insecurity once informed, then they may well
be found to have contributed to the accident.

Jeff

[Alex Heney]

On Sun, 11 Nov 2012 16:25:59 -0800 (PST), Owain
<spuorg...@gowanhill.com> wrote:

>On Nov 11, 11:32�pm, "Him & Her" wrote:
>> There are busy roads to 3 sides of this park, 2 of which are bus
>> routes. If a dog escapes under the fence from this "secure" area
>> and is injured and / or causes an accident, are the council
>> liable?
>
>IANAL.
>
>Not to the driver for a car accident as (a) the driver is responsible
>for controlling his vehicle at all times (b) owners are responsible
>for controlling his dog.

Huh?

By that argument, nobody involved in a car accident as driver could
ever be not responsible.

But every day hundreds of drivers are considered to be not
responsible for accidents in which they are involved.

But even if you accept that the car driver would be at fault, whoever
was responsible for the dog running loose into the road could *also*
be liable.

>
>However the council may have liability to the dog owner for (a) damage
>to the dog (b) consequential loss resulting from the dog escaping
>resulting in a claim against the dog owner.
>

They almost certainly would if it could be shown that they knew the
compound was not actually secure and had taken no action to either
make it so or warn users that it wasn't.
--
Alex Heney, Global Villager
Unqualified superlatives are the worst of all.
To reply by email, my address is alexDOTheneyATgmailDOTcom

[therustyone]

Quite possibly, as they have acknowledged the problem. However their legal department has deeper pockets than the average citizen and has built up years of expertise in resisting claims, so I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for compensation. The fence is to protect children, rather than dogs.

rusty

[Him & Her]

"therustyone" <johned...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:2d218b04-1413-4693...@googlegroups.com...

On Sunday, November 11, 2012 11:32:18 PM UTC, Him & Her wrote:
> Hypothetical situation (for now)
> Local council provides a "secure free running dog area" on a
> park
> that is subject to dog control orders. Said area is fenced by
> 5ft metal railings and has 2 auto closing gates.
> Several times during the last year the council has been
> notified
> (by email) that there are sections where dogs are able to
> escape
> under the fencing - emails have been acknowledged.
> There are busy roads to 3 sides of this park, 2 of which are
> bus
> routes. If a dog escapes under the fence from this "secure"
> area
> and is injured and / or causes an accident, are the council
> liable?

=====

Quite possibly, as they have acknowledged the problem. However
their legal department has deeper pockets than the average
citizen and has built up years of expertise in resisting claims,
so I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for compensation. The
fence is to protect children, rather than dogs.

=====

ok, I'll bite (no pun intended)

Excerpt from one of their emails reads as follows.....
[Q] I have walked the site that you have indicated on your map
and have deduced that a security issue does indeed exist in this
corner.[endQ]

Since this email in July this year other area's have been
identified. So, bearing in mind that most people using this area
are not aware of the security issues will the council be liable
if a dog escapes and attacks a child - only because you say the
fence is there for the protection of children.

[®i©ardo]

Plus, when all's said and done, YOU are paying for all this via your
council tax. Why should they give a toss?

--
Moving things in still pictures