Ontario’s top court says a dog walker bitten on the job cannot sue the pet’s full-time owners because she legally possessed the dog at the time.
Ontario’s highest court has ruled that a part-time dog walker who was badly bitten while working cannot sue the dog’s full-time owners, finding she was legally an “owner” of the animal at the time of the attack.
The Ontario Court of Appeal decision turns on the province’s Dog Owners’ Liability Act, which can treat a person as a dog’s owner if they are in possession of the animal when a bite or attack occurs. The ruling means Amanda Nigro’s lawsuit against Michael and Amanda Luciano, the owners of a boxer named Forrest Gump, remains dismissed.
“There can be no doubt that the appellant was an owner of Forrest for purposes of the DOLA,” the appeal court wrote in a decision posted online Thursday. The court said Nigro was “unquestionably the person in a position to control the behaviour of the dogs at the critical time.”
Nigro began walking Forrest Gump part time in November 2021, according to the ruling. She had a key to the Lucianos’ home in Oshawa, Ont., and walked the dog about three times a week. The dog had no history of aggression, the court heard.
In March 2022, Amanda Luciano told Nigro the boxer needed to wear booties outside in the snow to protect an infected paw. When Nigro tried to put the booties on Forrest Gump for the first time, the dog lunged, bit her left arm and continued attacking her, leaving injuries to her abdomen, thigh and both arms, according to the ruling.
Nigro sued the Lucianos for $1 million in damages. The couple argued in court that they could not be held liable under the act because Nigro was the person controlling the dog when she was bitten. A Superior Court judge accepted that position, and the Court of Appeal has now upheld it.
The appeal court rejected Nigro’s argument that her case was different because she was alone in the Lucianos’ home and following their instruction to put booties on the dog. The court said the law is meant to place responsibility on those best positioned to prevent dog bites and attacks, wherever they happen.
Shane Katz, Nigro’s lawyer, said the decision should make people cautious when caring for someone else’s dog, even briefly. “It’s opening up a whole new class of owners and exposing way more people to potential liability,” he said.
Animal law lawyer Victoria Shroff, who was not described as representing either side, said Ontario’s law is relatively unusual in Canada and that people who work with dogs in the province should review their contracts in light of the ruling.
Comments (0)