Thursday, January 24, 2013
Bills in the House of Delegates and Senate would create a new standard where all dog owners are presumed liable for dog attacks, regardless of the breed of the animal.
Legislation overriding a Maryland Court of Appeals ruling that made landlords liable for pit bull attacks, and put owners at risk of being evicted or having to give up their dogs, will be heard Wednesday by the House Judiciary Committee. Identical House and Senate bills seek to create a new standard where all dog owners in civil action cases, regardless of the dog’s breed, are presumed liable for attacks unless owners can prove they did everything possible to avoid the attack, said Sen. Brian Frosh, sponsor of the Senate bill. It would also reverse the strict liability on landlords. “The interest groups: pet owners, landlords, and animal rights groups are pleased with it,” said Frosh, a Montgomery County Democrat who is also chairman of …
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
Court removes references to pit bull mixes while leaving owners and landlords responsible for injuries caused by pure-bred dogs.
UPDATED (4:27 p.m.)—The Maryland Court of Appeals will not reconsider an April decision in which it ruled that pit bull dogs are"inherently dangerous." Judge Alan Wilner, in a nine-page decision issued Tuesday, denied the motion for reconsideration with one caveat. (The full decision is attached to this story.) "That said, having re-read the briefs, relevant portions of the record extract, and the dissent, I am now convinced that, on the record before us, the application of the Court’s holding of strict liability to cross-bred pit bulls was both gratuitous and erroneous," wrote Wilner. "I would grant the motion for reconsideration, in part, to delete any reference to cross-bred pit bulls, so that the Court’s holding would apply only to pit…
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
Senate adopts gaming bill amended by the House but ends the session without bringing dog bite litigation bill to the floor for a vote.
Maryland voters can add expanded gaming to the list of referendum issues they'll be asked to vote on in November. The Senate early Wednesday morning voted 32-14 to accept a gaming bill amended hours earlier by the House of Delegates. But a bill meant to overturn a controversial Court of Appeals ruling that declared pit bulls an inherently dangerous dog breed failed after Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller said the House gave senators a "take it or leave it" ultimatum. "The House said take our amendments or nothing and the two committees weren't able to work out an agreement," said Miller. The Senate was able to reach a separate peace on the gaming bill where senators quickly agreed to all of the amendments delegates put on the bill …
Friday, August 10, 2012
Kevin Dunne, the lawyer for the Solesky family, shares his thoughts on legislation taken up by Maryland's General Assembly that would overturn much of his client's verdict.
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Friday, August 10, 2012
As a Maryland attorney for the last 32 years, my practice has largely focused on cases dealing with catastrophic injuries. That practice is driven by what I would hope to be an uncontroversial belief: namely, that the cost of an injury should be borne by the person who caused it, rather than by the victim. As a result, and specifically as a result of my representation of a ten-year-old boy who was brutally mauled by a neighbor’s pit bull dog, I have recently been thrust into a heated and, at times, toxic public debate concerning the dangerousness of certain breeds of dogs. This debate has been particularly frustrating for two reasons. First, it is a debate in which the two sides do not actually disagree about the important parts. Second, …
A bill that would overturn the state's Court of Appeals decision declaring pit bulls "inherently dangerous" overcame its first hurdle Thursday by passing a Senate committee hearing 6-3.
Maryland's Senate Judicial Services Committee voted 6-3 in favor of a bill that would overturn the state's Court of Appeals decision declaring pit bulls "inherently dangerous." Senators Norman Stone (D-District 6), Joseph Getty (R-District 5) and Nancy Jacobs (R- District 34) made up the minority. Despite more than two hours of testimony before the committee, Senate Bill 2 passed without amendment. The legislation would overturn the breed distinction created by April's Tracey v. Solesky ruling, which stated that "when an attack involves pit bulls, it is no longer necessary to prove that the particular pit bull or pit bulls are dangerous." Instead, the bill's language tightens down regulations on all dog owners by making them legally …
Dozens of people brought signs and pictures of their pit bulls to Lawyer's Square in an effort to let legislators know that they want to see an end to breed specific legislation.
People from across Maryland gathered in support of pit bulls at Lawyer's Mall in Annapolis on Thursday. "The idea that our dogs should be held to a different standard because they have square heads and short hairs is poppycock," Kallie Russell said. She and her husband own two pit bulls. They also own their own home, which means April's Maryland Court of Appeals decision that made landlords liable for the attacks by their tenants' dogs doesn't affect them. "It's a slippery slope. We could be renters in the future," Russell said. "It will end up affecting every single dog owner because no one is going to send someone out to try and figure out what kind of dog you have." On this point there seems to be general consensus among …
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Protestors argued that pit bulls are being unfairly targeted by the Maryland Court of Appeals.
Annapolis resident Stehle Harris is afraid she won't have a home. As the owner of a bull terrier, Harris said the recent Maryland Court of Appeals opinion that pit bulls and pit bull crossbreeds are dangerous could lead to a slippery slope. The opinion also states that landlords can prohibit the dogs from their properties. "I think pit bulls capacity to do damage is no greater than a chihuahua," she said. "I'm more apprehensive about smaller dogs." Harris was one of a group of Marylanders protesting the court's opinion at Lawyer's Mall in Annapolis on Tuesday afternoon. Erin Harty, of Baltimore, said Harris' fears aren't unfounded. As a volunteer at Baltimore Animal Rescue and Care Shelter, she said the center is already being …
Monday, April 30, 2012
The Maryland Court of Appeals has ruled that owners of pit bulls are liable for damages caused by attacks by the breed.
If your pit bull attacks someone, don't expect much sympathy in court. An opinion recently released by the Maryland Court of Appeals states that you should have already known the breed was dangerous. Maryland pit bull owners are now facing increased liability in attack cases, following a ruling in Tracey v. Solesky. The case involved a pit bull named Clifford that attacked a minor, causing life-threatening injuries. "When an attack involves pit bulls, it is no longer necessary to prove that the particular pit bull or pit bulls are dangerous," wrote Judge Dale R. Cathell in the opinion. Cathell also stated that landlords have the right to prohibit pit bulls or pit bull cross-breeds from their property. A PDF of the opinion is attached in …
Monday, May 23, 2011
The 98 Rock morning show sensation sits down with Patch, talks about aliens, Big Foot, surviving the "Rapture" and more.
Mickey Cucchiella is known for his cutting, edgy jokes as much as his opinionated rants. Those who listen to the 98 Rock morning show know that Cucchiella is irked by pit bulls and religion, believes in Big Foot and aliens both, and is equally fascinated by politics and bra sizes. He’s known for putting his female guests on the spot by asking them, “Who’s uglier, me or [morning show producer] Scott Reardon?” Well, Patch turned the tables on him this past weekend. Cucchiella, a Fallston resident, headlined five shows at Magooby’s Joke House, a comedy club in Timonium. He was running on fumes, caffeine, and his own pure, spastic energy, between working Saturday’s Preakness and his late-night sets onstage. He’d only had two hours of sleep, …
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Real Estate Bulls
1:37 am on Thursday, April 18, 2013
This post is very interesting for me and I admired the content which is about pit bulls. I think all the owners of dogs must have insurance. It would be a good decision for an animal lover. Real Estate Bulls more ›