At the beginning of last year, Ms. Liu, who lives in Fangshan, Beijing, was bitten by a pet dog led by Ms. Wang, a resident of the same building, when she took the elevator downstairs. What she didn't expect was that this accident would put her through two lawsuits.
Bitten by a pet dog in the elevator
One accident and two lawsuits
Video footage of the public place in the corridor of the community where the incident occurred shows that Ms. Liu was waiting for the elevator at around 7 o'clock in the morning. After the elevator door opened, Ms. Liu was just about to go in, but paused. Then, she walked into the elevator again. After a few seconds, Ms. Liu stepped back with her calf. What's going on?
Ruan Xiaoying, Judge of the People's Court of Fangshan District, Beijing: After the elevator door opened, Ms. Wang said that there was a dog and advised Ms. Liu not to take the elevator. But Ms. Liu was in a hurry to get to work, so she got into the elevator. After that, the puppy went around behind Ms. Liu and bit her calf, at which point Ms. Liu kicked the dog away.
Ms. Liu told her that she had been bitten by her dog and that she had a bruise on her leg, but Ms. Wang did not think so. Ms. Liu went to the hospital for examination, and her injury was diagnosed as a "dog bite on the right calf", and the doctor advised her to "rest for three days and re-examine in the outpatient clinic". Ms. Liu was vaccinated against rabies and paid for her own medical expenses.
Ruan Xiaoying, Judge of the Fangshan District People's Court in Beijing: The two sides also reported to the police, and the police also mediated the cost of vaccines and medical expenses, but the two sides did not reach an agreement.
Subsequently, Ms. Liu sued the dog's owner, Ms. Wang, to the court, demanding that the other party compensate her for medical expenses, lost work expenses, mental damages, etc., totaling 10,000 yuan.
According to Article 1245 of the Civil Code, if a raised animal causes damage to others, the animal keeper or manager shall bear tort liability; However, if it can be proved that the damage was caused intentionally or by gross negligence on the part of the infringed party, the liability may be waived or mitigated.
Although the available evidence did not directly show that the puppy bit Ms. Liu, the court could presume that the defendant's dog had bitten the plaintiff based on evidence such as hospital diagnosis, wound photos, elevator video footage, and statements of both parties, so the defendant should compensate the plaintiff for reasonable economic losses.
The court held that the plaintiff's claim for moral damages and losses affecting work lacked factual and legal basis, and the court did not support it, but only supported the reasonable part.
On August 31, 2023, the Fangshan District People's Court of Beijing Municipality pronounced a judgment of first instance, and the defendant Ms. Wang compensated the plaintiff Ms. Liu for various economic losses totaling 805 yuan.
Subsequently, the defendant, Ms. Wang, appealed against the judgment. On December 25, 2023, the Beijing No. 2 Intermediate People's Court rejected Ms. Wang's appeal and upheld the original judgment.
The pet dog was kicked and injured
The owner claimed 60,000 yuan
Ms. Liu received compensation for the bite through a lawsuit. She thought that the matter was over, but what she didn't expect was that the dog owner filed a lawsuit again and claimed 60,000 yuan from her instead.
Ms. Wang, the owner of the puppy and the plaintiff in the case, said that after she and the other party got into an argument over the puppy in the elevator, the other party kicked her dog away, and the dog was injured.
Ruan Xiaoying, Judge of the Fangshan District People's Court in Beijing: Ms. Wang said that her dog was kicked and injured and spent more than 800 yuan for treatment in a pet hospital.
The plaintiff, Ms. Wang, also mentioned that the puppy was like her own child, and she had an argument with the defendant in the elevator, and her dog was kicked away by the other party, which caused her to suffer a mental blow and eventually lead to an illness and hospitalization.
Ruan Xiaoying, Judge of the Fangshan District People's Court of Beijing: The plaintiff in this case, Ms. Wang, stated that she suffered from high blood pressure and heart disease, and because of this incident, her spirit was affected, she was very anxious, and she couldn't sleep for a long time, which caused some of the original underlying diseases to worsen, and she was hospitalized.
The plaintiff, Ms. Wang, believed that the defendant was at fault for kicking the dog, so she demanded that the defendant compensate her for medical expenses, mental damages, and treatment of her pet dog totaling more than 60,000 yuan. In addition, the plaintiff also asked the other party to apologize to him.
In court, the plaintiff and the defendant discussed whether the defendant Ms. Liu was at fault for kicking the dog. In response to the plaintiff's statement, the defendant Ms. Liu did not agree.
So if a dog bites a person and a person kicks a dog, who is responsible? Is Ms. Liu's behavior of kicking the dog at fault?
COURT: The defendant was not at fault
The court held that according to the provisions of Article 17, Paragraph 3 of the "Beijing Municipal Regulations on the Administration of Dog Breeding", if the dog takes the elevator, the dog owner should avoid the rush hour of taking the elevator, and wear a muzzle for the dog, or put the dog in a dog bag or dog cage.
The plaintiff, Ms. Wang, took the elevator during the morning rush hour, violating the regulations and allowing the damage to occur in this case.
The court held that the plaintiff's dog bitten another person was an unlawful assault on another person, and the victim had the right to take necessary measures against the unlawful infringement.
The court held that, judging from the video of the posting process, the defendant Ms. Liu only kicked the dog once, and did not have obvious characteristics of hitting or kicking again, so it can be determined that the defendant's behavior did not exceed the necessary limit and the defendant was not at fault.
In addition, the judge mentioned that to determine whether the defendant should bear tort liability, it is necessary to analyze whether there is a legal causal relationship between Ms. Liu's dog kicking and the plaintiff's illness and hospitalization.
During the trial, the plaintiff also submitted that when the elevator door was opened, he suggested that the defendant take the next elevator, but the other party did not listen, which led to the incident. In this regard, the judge said that the plaintiff's statement was not reasonable.
Therefore, the court held that the plaintiff Ms. Wang's claim for the defendant to apologize and compensate for losses had no legal basis and was not supported.
On May 30 this year, the Fangshan District People's Court of Beijing Municipality made a judgment in this case, rejecting all the claims of the plaintiff, Ms. Wang.
Source: CCTV News Comprehensive on CCTV Network
Editor: Little W