LEORA CARROLL AND MARTIN CARROLL, APPELLANTS,
v.
VIRGINIA E. MOXLEY AND ALLSTATE INSURANCE COMPANY, AN ILLINOIS CORPORATION, APPELLEES
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The court reviewed the constitutionality of a statute imposing strict liability on dog owners, specifically examining the exceptions for posted 'Bad Dog' signs and provocation.
The court held that the statute imposing strict liability on dog owners is constitutional and that the 'Bad Dog' sign exception requires the sign to be prominently displayed and easily readable.
[1] A statute imposing strict liability on dog owners for bites supersedes the common law regarding dog bite liability, except in situations not covered by the statute.
[2] A statute providing for dog owner liability for bites, with exceptions for provocation or posted "Bad Dog" signs, does not violate constitutional provisions guaranteeing…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligencePlaintiff was bitten by her mother's dog on the mother's property, despite a 'Beware of Dog' sign. The trial court found the statute unconstitutional …
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This is an appeal from a summary final judgment entered for Defendants and *682against Plaintiffs in this personal injury-action by the Dade County Circuit Court, specifically passing upon the constitutionality of Fla.Stat. § 767.04, F.S.A. We have jurisdiction, Fla.Const., art. V, § 4(2), F.S.A; F.A.R. 2.1(a) (5), (a), 32 F.S.A.
The challenged statute in this case is part of Title XLIII, Torts, and of Ch. 767, Damage by Dogs. The pertinent portion of the statute, Fla.Stat. § 767.04, F.S.A. provides:
“The owners of any dog which shall bite any person, while such person is on or in a public place, or lawfully on or in a private place, including the property of the owner of such dogs, shall be liable for such damages as may be suffered by persons bitten, regardless of the former viciousness of such dog or the owners’ knowledge of such viciousness. A person is lawfully upon private property of such owner within the meaning of this act when he is on such property in the performance of any duty imposed upon him by the laws of this state or by the laws or postal regulations of the United States, or when he is on such property upon invitation, expressed or implied, of the owner thereof; provided, however, no owner of any dog shall be liable for any damages to any person or his property when such person shall mischievously or carelessly provoke or aggravate the dog inflicting such damage ; nor shall any such owner be so liable if at the time of any such injury he had displayed in a prominent place on his premises a sign easily readable including the words ‘Bad Dog.’ ”
The facts of this case are alleged as follows: Plaintiff, Mrs. Carroll, went into the hardware store owned by her mother, Defendant, Mrs. Moxley, to make purchases and deliver sandwiches. Mrs. Mox-ley owned a German Shepherd dog which Mrs. Carroll knew had previously bitten a customer, but which previously had been friendly to her. Mrs. Carroll went to a counter to leave the sandwiches. Beside the counter is a gate, with signs on it, “Beware of Dog” and “Keep Out.” As Mrs. Carroll stood at the counter, the dog, which had not been previously seen or heard, lunged and bit her on the face. Suit was brought against the dog owner and insurer, on the basis of tort under Fla. Stat. § 767.04, F.S.A., and also common law. The trial judge ruled that Fla.Stat. § 767.04, F.S.A., superseded the common law and that liability did not lie under the statute since a “Bad Dog” sign was posted. Plaintiffs say the statute is unconstitutional. The trial judge entered summary final judgment in favor of Defendants. This appeal followed.
The contention that Plaintiffs have a cause of action both under Fla.Stat. § 767.04, F.S.A., and the common law is without merit. It has been previously held that the subject statute modified the common law, in that it makes the dog owner the insurer against damage by his dog with certain exceptions, departing from the common law doctrines grounded in negligence. See Romfh v. Berman, 56 So.2d 127 (Fla.1951); Vandercar v. David, 96 So.2d 227 (Fla.App.3rd, 1957); Knapp v. Ball, 175 So.2d 808 (Fla.App.3rd, 1965). It is concluded that Fla.Stat. § 767.04, F. S.A., supersedes the common law, only in those situations covered by the statute.
It is next contended that the statute is unconstitutional, as in violation of the Fla.Const. § 4, Declaration of Rights (1885); Fla.Const., art. I, § 21, Declaration of Rights (1968). This constitutional provision provides that the courts of the State shall be open to any person for redress of any injury. The contention is not well taken, since Fla.Stat. § 767.04, F.S.A., does not take away a right of redress for injury; rather, it provides that a dog owner shall be liable even without the common law requirement of scienter for injuries caused by his dog, but that under certain circumstances, including injury which results after notice is given by a posted “Bad Dog” sign, no liability *683will lie. The statute does not violate the cited constitutional provisions.
It must be noted, however, that the express requirement of the statute is that the “Bad Dog” sign be posted “in a prominent place” and be “easily readable.” The purpose of these requirements is to make certain that before a dog owner will be relieved of liability, the attempt to give notice that a bad dog is on the premises must be genuine, effective and bona fide. In every case, the factual determination must be made whether the “Bad Dog” sign as posted is in a prominent place and easily readable, so as to give actual notice of the risk of bite to the victim. The sufficiency of this notice should be determined by the circumstances of each case. While it is reasonable to conclude that the Legislature could enact a statute shielding a dog owner from liability where notice of the bad dog risk is prominently given by a sign easily readable, it would be unreasonable to conclude that a dog owner should be shielded from liability where a victim was trapped in circumstances where the sign was not both prominently displayed and easily readable. Not every sign, even if seen, is sufficient to put a potential victim on notice of the risk he assumes by being present on the premises.
All of the evidence in this case may be uncontroverted, yet there nevertheless exists a genuine issue as to a material fact that would preclude the lawful entry of a summary judgment for the evidence, though uncontroverted, is such that reasonable men might properly draw conflicting inferences of fact therefrom. Baskin v. Griffith, 127 So.2d 467 (Fla.App.lst, 1961); 19 F.L.P., Pleading, § 120, p. 485. For these reasons, it was error for the trial judge to enter summary final judgment in favor of Defendants.
The judgment of the Circuit Court is affirmed in part, and reversed in part, and this cause is remanded to the Circuit Court for further proceedings consistent with the law of the case.
It is so ordered.
ERVIN, C. J., DREW and BOYD, JJ„ and SPECTOR, District Court Judge, concur.
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Jones v. Utica Mut. Ins. Co., 463 So. 2d 1153 (Fla. 1985)…kseat to fire. See Mapoles v. Mapoles, 350 So. 2d 1137 (Fla. 1st DCA 1977), cert. denied, 364 So. 2d 888 (Fla.1978). I would recede from Donner v. Arkwright-Boston Manufacturers Mutual Insurance Co., 358 So. 2d 21 (Fla.1978), and Carroll v. Moxley, 241 So. 2d 681 (Fla. 1970), to the extent that they hold that chapter 767 superseded the common law in all situations covered by the statute. A [*1159] reasonable interpretation of the statute is that strict owner liability was intended to be imposed for injury at…
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Marks v. Delcastillo, 386 So. 2d 1259 (Fla. 3d DCA 1980)…equate when they are not given in time for the person supposedly warned to escape the dangerous condition in question — as in the case of one made aware of the fact that dynamite is present only immediately before it explodes. See Carroll v. Moxley, 241 So. 2d 681, 683 (Fla.1970); 1661 Corp. v. Snyder, 267 So. 2d 362 (Fla.1st DCA 1972); compare Brown v. Thomas Blackwell Coal & Mining Co., 124 Ky. 324, 99 S.W. 299 (1907). In sum, the jury could have found that the defendants maintained a horrendously dangerou…
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Donner v. Arkwright-Boston Mfrs. Mut. Ins. Co., 358 So. 2d 21 (Fla. 1978)…metimes impossible to prove this element of scienter.2 Accordingly, the Florida Legislature enacted statutes designed to obviate the element of scienter,3 and make the dog owner the insurer against damage done by his dog. In Carroll [*24] v. Moxley, 241 So. 2d 681 (Fla.1970), which prior to the instant cause was this Court’s latest exposition on the subject statute,4 we held that Section 767.04, Florida Statutes, superseded the common law in those situations covered by the statute. In that case, the plaintiff…
Previewing 3 of 29 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Norris F. Baskin and Ola G. Baskin v. Griffith, 127 So. 2d 467 (Fla. 1st DCA 1961)
- Romfh v. Berman, 56 So. 2d 127 (Fla. 1951)
- Al Goldstein v. Stone, 96 So. 2d 227 (Fla. 3d DCA 1957)
- Vandercar v. David, 96 So. 2d 227 (Fla. 3d DCA 1957)
- Harrell v. Sanders, 175 So. 2d 808 (Fla. 2d DCA 1965)
- Nell Lane Knapp v. Lygia L. Ball, 175 So. 2d 808 (Fla. 3d DCA 1965)