You are here: / / THE STRICT LIABILITY THEORY APPLIES HERE WHERE PLAINTIFF WAS KICKED BY...

THE STRICT LIABILITY THEORY APPLIES HERE WHERE PLAINTIFF WAS KICKED BY DEFENDANT’S HORSE; QUESTIONS OF FACT ABOUT WHICH HORSE KICKED PLAINTIFF AND PLAINTIFF’S AWARENESS OF THE RISK PRECLUDED SUMMARY JUDGMENT (FOURTH DEPT).

The Fourth Department determined questions of fact precluded summary judgment in this action stemming from defendant being kicked by plaintiff’s horse. There were questions of fact about which of plaintiff’s horses kicked the plaintiff and whether plaintiff was aware of the risk of approaching the horse. Plaintiff was familiar with the horses and defendant had called plaintiff because two of the horses were fighting. The court rejected the argument that negligence, as opposed to strict liability, was the applicable theory:

Agriculture and Markets Law § 108 (7) classifies horses as domestic animals, and ” ‘[w]hen harm is caused by a domestic animal, its owner’s liability is determined solely by application of the rule’ . . . of strict liability for harm caused by a domestic animal whose owner knows or should have known of the animal’s vicious propensities” … (quoting Bard v Jahnke, 6 NY3d 592, 599 [2006] …) . Contrary to plaintiff’s contention, the exception to that rule set forth in Hastings v Sauve (21 NY3d 122, 125-126 [2013]) does not apply here, inasmuch as the horse did not stray from defendant’s property .. . Contrary to plaintiff’s further contention, he may not maintain a negligence claim against defendant under the reasoning of Hewitt v Palmer Veterinary Clinic, PC (35 NY3d 541 [2020]). In that case, the Court of Appeals held that the Bard rule, set forth above, does not apply to a veterinary clinic … . The Court reasoned that the Bard “line of precedent concerning animal owners [was not] directly implicated” in Hewitt … . By contrast, inasmuch as defendant was the owner of the horse that injured plaintiff, the Bard rule of strict liability applies here. Shuttleworth v Cory, 2023 NY Slip Op 06635, Fourth Dept 12-22-23

Practice Point: Strict liability, not negligence, controls in this horse-kick case. The recent Court of Appeals applications of a negligence theory to injury caused by animals do not apply here.

 

You might also like
COUNTY’S INTERPRETATION OF REGULATION WAS RATIONAL AND COULD NOT, THEREFORE, BE DISTURBED BY THE COURT; TIME LIMITS APPLICABLE TO ADMINISTRATIVE DECISIONS ARE DISCRETIONARY.
THE BED OF A VAN IS NOT AN ELEVATED WORK SURFACE FOR PURPOSES OF LABOR LAW 240(1) (FOURTH DEPT).
THERE WAS SUFFICIENT EVIDENCE DEFENDANT INTENTIONALLY AIDED THE PRINCIPALS IN THE KIDNAPPING; THE EVIDENCE THAT DEFENDANT CONSTRUCTIVELY POSSESSED A WEAPON, HOWEVER, WAS LEGALLY INSUFFICIENT (FOURTH DEPT).
Pre-Closing Inspection Disallowed Because There Was No Mention of a Pre-Closing Inspection in the Purchase Contract
ONE OF THE GRAND JURORS HAD A FELONY CONVICTION RENDERING THE GRAND JURY ILLEGALLY CONSTITUTED; THE INDICTMENT SHOULD HAVE BEEN DISMISSED; WHETHER THE DEFENDANT WAS PREJUDICED WAS IRRELEVANT (FOURTH DEPT). ​
DECEDENT, WHO DIED TESTATE IN 2004, WAS AWARDED COMPENSATION BY CONGRESS IN 2015 BECAUSE HER HUSBAND HAD BEEN HELD IN IRAN AS A HOSTAGE FROM 1979 TO 1981; BECAUSE THE COMPENSATION WAS AWARDED AFTER HER DEATH, IT DOES NOT PASS BY WILL, BUT RATHER BY THE LAWS OF INTESTACY (FOURTH DEPT).
THE TRIAL JUDGE DID NOT RULE ON DEFENDANT’S MOTION FOR A TRIAL ORDER OF DISMISSAL; THE APPELLATE COURT CANNOT TREAT THE FAILURE TO RULE AS A DENIAL; MATTER REMITTED FOR A RULING (FOURTH DEPT). ​
FALSE ARREST AND FALSE IMPRISONMENT COMPLAINT PROPERLY DISMISSED AFTER A DEFENSE VERDICT; TWO JUSTICE DISSENT (FOURTH DEPT).

Categories

Sign Up for the Mailing List to Be Notified When the Site Is Updated.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Copyright © 2026 New York Appellate Digest, Inc.
Site by CurlyHost | Privacy Policy

​ ALTHOUGH NOT REQUIRED UNDER THE GENERAL MUNICIPAL LAW, FILING A NOTICE... A FACTUAL NEXUS BETWEEN THE ENDANGERING THE WELFARE OF A CHILD CONVICTION AND...