The decision in a recent case will come as a relief to dog owners.
It involved a dog named Hector, a two-year-old Great Dane. Hector had been mistreated as a puppy, which occasionally led him to bark at the sight of strangers. Otherwise, he was a gentle dog.
In 2004, Hector had been let off his lead by his owner, who thought that no one else was in the vicinity. Unfortunately, a runner was passing and Hector unexpectedly jumped up at him. As Hector weighs more than 12 stone, this knocked the runner over and he broke his ankle as a result. He sued Hector's owner for being negligent in his handling of the dog and was awarded damages by the court. In the view of the court, Hector's owner had taken insufficient care to ensure there was no one else in the immediate area before letting him off the lead.
The owner appealed, arguing that he would have kept Hector on his lead had he known there was anyone else nearby and that since Hector had no prior history of jumping up at people, his handling of the dog was reasonable in the circumstances.
The decision in the Court of Appeal turned on the question of what the appropriate standard of care was in such circumstances. The key issue is that to find a person negligent, it is necessary for the court to be satisfied that a reasonable person would consider that, as a result of his actions or omissions, there was a possibility of injury resulting which was sufficiently probable to be anticipated.
The Court of Appeal concluded that a reasonable person would not have anticipated that physical injury to another person would occur in the circumstances.
Whilst the decision will be welcomed by dog owners, it is nevertheless worth bearing in mind that had the circumstances been different, Hector's owner could have found himself having to meet a substantial claim.
