In a recent unpublished decision, Skiver v Durga, Docket Nos. 358830; 358931, the Michigan Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court’s decision that a landlord can be held liable for ordinary negligence and premises liability for injuries caused by a vicious dog owned by a tenant.
In Skiver, the plaintiff was attacked and harmed by Defendant Durga’s dog. The plaintiff sued both Durga and Silver Shores, the operator of the mobile home community where Durga lived. The trial court held, and the Court of Appeals affirmed, that a reasonable jury could find Silver Shores liable for ordinary negligence and premises liability.
The court found that the claim of ordinary negligence for failing to enforce Silver Shores’ own rules and regulations regarding animals on lease premises intended to keep residents safe required only allegations that Silver Shores knew about the dog, knew or should have known about the dogs’ dangerous propensities, allowed the owner to keep the dog in violation of the rules and regulations, and the failure to enforce those rules proximately caused the injuries.
Here, the plaintiff alleged that Silver Shores had notice based on several people reporting the dangerous dog and dangerous interactions with this dog. The plaintiff alleged sufficient facts for a reasonable jury to infer that Silver Shores had knowledge of the dogs’ existence, it’s dangerous propensities, and took no action to enforce its own regulations.
In regard to premises liability, a prior case established that a loose, unsupervised and dangerous dog could constitute a condition on the land for purposes of premises liability. For this claim, it was undisputed that the injury occurred in a common area controlled by Silver Shores and there was a duty to keep those common areas safe.
The issue for premises liability again was whether or not Silver Shores knew, or should have known, about the dangerous condition. The court applied the same logic as for ordinary negligence regarding knowledge – the plaintiff had alleged sufficient facts for a reasonable jury to infer that Silver Shores had knowledge.
In conclusion, as a landlord, it is important to enforce your rules and regulations and to take every report of a violation seriously. Evidence of reports of violations is enough to be put on notice such that you may be liable for any harm caused by those violations, especially when it comes to dangerous animals.
The full text of the case can be found at:
https://law.justia.com/cases/michigan/court-of-appeals-unpublished/2022/358830.html
