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History
- Referred to judiciary
- Referred to judiciary
Companion bill
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Imposes civil liability of owners for persons bitten by the dog of another while in a public place or while lawfully in a private place
In Assembly Committee · Judiciary · Sponsor Marcos Crespo
Full text
The text isn't available here yet. Check nysenate.gov.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the general obligations law, in relation to liability of owners for dog bites
Purpose/summary of provisions
The bill amends the general obligations law to establish owner liability for damages suffered by any person who is bitten by the owner's dog while in a public place or lawfully in a private place regardless of the former dangerousness or viciousness of the dog or the owner's knowledge of the dog's propensity for viciousness. An exception to liability exists for a governmental entity or instrumentality using a dog in military or police work if the bite or bites occurred while the dog was defending itself from an annoying, harassing or provoking act or assisting an employee in apprehending or holding a suspect of a crime; in investigating a crime; in searching for controlled substances; in executing a warrant; or in the defense of a peace officer or another person. Additionally, the owner of the dog shall not be liable civilly if the dog was coming to the aid or defense of a person being subjected to criminal activity and the person committing the criminal activity is injured by such dog. Finally, the bill stipulates that this right shall not limit or impair any cause of action authorized pursuant to any other provision of law and shall be in addition to any other statutory remedy.
Justification
New Yorkers continue to suffer injuries as a result of unprovoked dog attacks. Unlike other states (e.g. California) the common law in this State does not permit an injured party to collect damages for his or her injuries as a result of being bitten unless he/she can prove that the owner had knowledge of the dog's propensity for viciousness. Hence, New York follows the "one free bite" rule. The enactment of this bill would build on last year's dangerous dog law which raised civil penalties against owners, which accrue to the jurisdiction and not the victim, and provided for the seizure of dangerous dogs based on a lesser standard that what is currently the threshold in civil cases. It is only fair for owners of dogs who have bitten someone to be held civilly accountable for the damages suffered and thus, for the owners to be afforded the appropriate remedy.
Existing law
None.
Fiscal implications
None to the state.
Effective date
This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall have become a law.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.