Pit Bull Mediation Case
I recently mediated a “classic” pit bull bites child case. Just for full disclosure, besides being a
mediator / lawyer, I am also certified in therapeutic dog massage and have a
great love and affinity for all dogs. I also think that responsible dog ownership is the obligation of the owner. It has
been years since I overcame the cultural conditioning of being afraid of pit
bulls. However, I do understand how pit bulls are portrayed in the culture and the
effect that can have.
The background: The
plaintiff is a mother who lives across the street from the defendants, a young
couple who have two pit bulls. At the time of the incident, two years ago, the
couple (defendants) was expecting their first child. Until that moment, the pit
bulls had never caused any problems and were well loved and socialized dogs
with children and other dogs. On the day of the incident, the plaintiff
(mother) was away and her brother (child’s uncle) was taking care of her 4 year
old. The pit bulls had met the child many times before with no incident. The
uncle was playing next to the pit bull’s home and tossing the child around and
the child was having fun making lots of noise. The pit bulls got out of their
yard (there was no fence enclosure) and ran toward the child and uncle. The
uncle lifted the child away from the pit bulls who jumped up and bit the child
on his side. (Were they trying to “protect” the child and get him away from the
uncle? - who can say).There was lots blood and the child was taken to the hospital.
The wound healed and there was no permanent damage.
The plaintiff hired a local attorney who brought an action
against the defendants but the lawsuit simply lingered. Two years passed. The
lawyer had instructed the plaintiff not to speak with the defendant so the many
phone calls from the defendant were not answered. The plaintiff eventually
moved from that house (not because of the dogs) but carried a lingering anger
and frustration that the matter had not been resolved to her satisfaction.
There were some expenses for the hospital $500 but half of that was covered by
insurance.
The case - I was
volunteering as a co-mediator for a community based program in Massachusetts
and this case came to small claims court. In small claims, the dollar limit for
recovery is $7,000. The plaintiff sued for $6,000 which included medical bills
and pain and suffering. She explained the story, told the defendants that she
wanted this resolved so that “she could put it to rest.”
Now it was the defendant’s turn. She began her story and
immediately broke down in tears. She too had been carrying this for two years
and was so upset that her dogs had injured a child. She was pregnant when this
happened and just the thought that this could happen to her baby was very real
to her. She had wanted to make amends from the very beginning. In fact, she had
gone to the hospital to see if the child was OK. After all this was her
neighbor. She apologized for not having a better fence which she had put in the
next week after the incident. This turned out to be the only incident that ever
occurred with her dogs either before or after.
The plaintiff was deeply touched and also began crying. Both
plaintiff and defendant met on common and deeply shared grounds of motherhood
and protection and care for children. This case, like many others that come to
court, are not “exclusively” about the money as much as the hurt. I have seen
that when the emotional issue gets addressed, the money resolution naturally
follows.
In this case, the defendants did not have a lot of money and
the plaintiff could understand that. The actual out of pocket cost to the
plaintiff was $250 and the defendant offered $600. “Will that be enough”, the
defendant asked. “That will do” said the plaintiff. And so the case was
resolved.
A few comments: Mediation sometimes has an almost magical
ability to help parties resolve issues that could not be resolved through
litigation. Even if through litigation the defendant was ordered to pay $600,
it would not have been the same emotional resolution as offered in this case. The
typical pit bull issue was raised in the conversation, mostly by the husbands.
One said that pit bulls were bad and dangerous and the other that they were
fine if socialized properly. Fortunately, the men were mostly in the background
and the powerful emotions of motherhood won the day for both parties.
