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Horse/Car Collisions |
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Cruelty to Horses |
This segment contains cases that deal with the legal liabilities that result when a horse escapes from its enclosure, goes onto a public highway, and collides with a motor vehicle. (scroll down to view cases) |
Statutes for Horsemen |
Nebraska Supreme Court (1993) Owner not
liable
Wyoming Supreme Court (1993) Off-duty officer
has no duty to remove
horse from road
U.S. Court of Appeals (1993) U.S. not liable
for BLM Mustangs on
highway
Michigan Court of Appeals (1994) Horse owner
may be liable for
stopping traffic on highway
Nebraska Supreme Court (1994) Car damages
fence, horse escapes and
collides with car
California Court of Appeals (1994) Criminal
liability for letting
horse escape enclosure
Indiana Court of Appeals (1994) Horse owner
not liable when horse
escapes
Florida Court of Appeals (1994) Responsibility
for wreck--employee
or independent contractor?
Iowa Court of Appeals (1995) Owner not liable
for breach in fence
Oklahoma Supreme Court (1995) Liability for
negligently-maintained
fence
Montana Supreme Court (1995) Open range
law--legal fence?
New York Appellate Division (1995) No proof
owner was negligent
in letting nine horses escape
Florida Court of Appeals (1995) Policeman may
be liable for
injuries in chase of loose horse
Florida Supreme Court (1996) Car/cow collision;
negligence
standard; open range; fence laws
Maryland Court of Special Appeals (1996) Validity
of local animal
control ordinance
Illinois Appellate Court (1997) Owner must
prove lack of fault
regarding escape onto highway
Texas Court of Appeals (1997) Common law duty
to keep horse off
highway recognized
North Dakota Supreme Court (1997) No strict
liability for
collision outside grazing zone
Washington Court of Appeals (1997) Dog chases
horse onto highway;
prior incident
New York Appellate Division(1997) No
negligence in unloading
racehorse 20 feet from highway
Tennessee Court of Appeals (1998) Failure
to comply with legal
fence requirement
South Dakota Supreme Court(1998) Cattle owner
not liable for
livestock on country road
Ohio Court of Appeals (1998) Non-owner of horse
on highway may be
liable as "keeper"
Georgia Court of Appeals (1998) Landowner has
no duty to keep
horse off highway.
Colorado Court of Appeals (1998) Negligence
in operation of
snowplow.
Texas Supreme Court (1999) No common
law duty to keep
horse off highway
New York Appellate Division (1999) Permitting
horse on
highway negligent itself
Ohio Court of Appeals (1999) Owner
strictly liable for crime
of permitting horse on road
Florida Court of Appeals (1999) Owner not strictly
liable for
permitting horse on road
Louisiana Court of Appeals (1999) Owner liable for
negligently permitting
horse on road
South Dakota Supreme Court (1999) Owners
were negligent in
permitting horses onto highway
North Carolina Court of Appeals (1999) Pickup
driver may be liable
for striking horse being trail ridden
Texas Court of Appeals (1999) Court refuses to
require owner of
livestock to exercise more than due care
Idaho Supreme Court (1999) Statute gives
immunity for livestock
lawfully on a highway
Texas Court of Appeals (1999) City not
liable for
injury from bull escaping to interstate highway
Montana Supreme Court (2000) Not guilty of
negligent homicide for
leaving scene of collision with horse
Illinois Appellate Court (2000) Under animal
at large
statute, burden is on horse owner to prove due care
Montana Supreme Court (2000) Livestock owner owes
duty to motorist
even in open range
Texas Court of Appeals (2000) Cannot sue
government for death from
horse on highway
Delaware Superior Court (2001) Cannot consider
lost winnings in
injury to racehorse
Mississippi Court of Appeals (2001) Jury should
consider fault
between carriage and automobile drivers
Kansas Court of Appeals (2001) Dept. of
Transportation
not liable for escape of cow onto highway
Ohio Court of Appeals (2001) Negligent
inspection and maintenance of
fence requires trial in cow/car collision
Georgia Court of Appeals (2001) Owner may be
liable when horse downs
fence board to enter highway
Iowa Supreme Court (2001) Accident reconstruction
evidence requires
reversal of fatal buggy collision conviction
Texas Court of Appeals (2001) Landlord of
leased
pasture has no duty to keep lessee's bull off highway
Kansas Attorney General (2001) Prohibition
on
permitting livestock to run at large is civil, not criminal
Mississippi Attorney General (2001) County
may
fine a landowner who fails to fence livestock off public roads
Kansas Supreme Court (2002) State
liable for injuries when cow escaped
across a state-maintained fence
Missouri Court of Appeals (2002) Railroad may
be liable
for injuries from escape of horse through its fence
Louisiana Court of Appeals (2002) Owner may
be liable
for mysterious escape of horse and collision with car
Wyoming Supreme Court (2002) Wyoming
stands by
the no duty in open range rule in car/cow collision case
Montana Supreme Court (2002) Owner of
trespassing bull
strictly liable for injury to capturer
U.S. Court of Appeals (2002) Tribal court
had
jurisdiction over lawsuit over horse/car collision on BIA road on
reservation
Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas (2002) Amish
required to display slow moving vehicle reflection despite religious
objections
Idaho Supreme Court (2002) Leaving the scene
of
collision with a horse does not violate leaving the scene statute
Connecticut Superior Court (2002) City
officials may
be liable for horse being on the public road
Montana Supreme Court (2002) Defense of
assumption of
risk not available in livestock trespass strict liability case
Delaware Supreme Court (2003) Conviction
for reckless
driving for collision with horse and buggy upheld
Louisiana Court of Appeals (2003) Burden on
livestock
owner to prove no negligence for stock law district accident
Ohio Court of Appeals (2003) Municipal park
cannot be
sued under sovereign immunity for horse/car collision
Connecticut Superior Court (2003) City
officials are
not liable for horse being on public road
Texas Court of Appeals (2003) Permitting cow
on highway
in violation of local stock law not negligence per se
U.S. District Court (2003) Cow/car collision
may be
covered by Illinois animals at large statute
Texas Court of Appeals (2003) Water company
liable
for deaths from collision with horse for not filling in hole
Texas Attorney General (2003) Cannot
combine
cattle and horses in same election for local option stock law district
Arkansas Court of Appeals (2003) Negligence
fence
maintenance may have permitted horse to escape to highway
Louisiana Court of Appeals (2004) Owner
of cows not
liable for injury to truck passengers because fence inspected
Illinois Appellate Court (2004) Comparative
negligence applies to lawsuit under Domestic Animals Running at Large
Act
Louisiana Supreme Court (2004) Livestock
owner's
explanation for escape to highway did not rebut presumption of
negligence
Ohio Court of Appeals (2004) Failure to
supervise newly-purchased bull and to inspect fences may have been
negligent
Texas Court of Appeals (2004) Failure to warn of
cow on highway may result in liability
Connecticut Appellate Court (2004) City
officials not liable for horse being on public road
Nebraska Court of Appeals (2004) Neither deputy
sheriff nor county liable for collision between horse and motorcycle
Iowa Supreme Court (2004) Duty to keep livestock
off highway survives repeal of fencing-in statute
Louisiana Court of Appeals (2004) Owner of cow
liable for injury to motorist on public highway
New York Supreme Court (2006) Proof of negligence requires more than the presence
of a horse in the road.
Missouri Court of Appeals (2006) County
not the possessor of horse on County land.
Wyoming Supreme Court (2007) Escape
of cow precludes summary judgment.
U.S. District Court (2007) Arizona law applied
to auto/horse collision on Navajo highway.
U.S. District Court Illinois (2007) No
evidence to show agency connection required to connect business to the
accident.