A San Francisco Chronicle story reports that a California appellate court has upheld the murder conviction of Marjorie Knoller, the owner of the large dogs that fatally attacked a San Francisco woman back in 2001. The trial court judge had held that Knoller could not be convicted of murder, because there was no evidence that she intended to kill the woman her dog attacked. But the California Supreme Court held that for Knoller to be convicted of murder, as the jury intended, she need only have known that her dogs had attacked animals and humans before, and that she could not control them. Following that ruling, the case went back to the trial court, where the murder conviction was reinstated, resulting in an appeal which was decided in late August. Now Knoller will probably take her appeal back to the California Supreme Court, where she will have little chance of success, given the Court's prior ruling in her case.
The Knoller case is an extreme example, but those of us who handle dog bite injury cases in San Francisco and around the Bay Area often see people who have encouraged or allowed their dogs to be vicious or aggressive towards others. Those people do so with the knowledge that people or animals could be severely injured. Despite this conduct, which the Knoller case showed can even result in a murder conviction, homeowner's insurance usually covers dog attacks. Insurance never covers intentional acts, but the vast majority of California dog bite cases are treated as negligence, which qualified for insurance coverage.
In my view, dog bite and attack incidents are almost always the fault of the dog owners. Even the pit bull, the breed I see most often in Bay Area dog bite cases, can be gentle, very nice pets if they are treated and trained properly. It is sad to see animals essentially treated as weapons-weapons over which the owner has only partial control. More criminal law enforcement might help deter people from this type of behavior, even in incidents without the tragic result of the Knoller case.
If you or someone you know has been injured by an animal in California, speak to one of the dog bite lawyers at Callaway & Wolf, who are experienced in handling dog bite, and animal injury claims.
