Thursday, January 24, 2013
Bills in the House of Delegates and Senate would create a new standard where all dog owners are presumed liable for dog attacks, regardless of the breed of the animal.
Legislation overriding a Maryland Court of Appeals ruling that made landlords liable for pit bull attacks, and put owners at risk of being evicted or having to give up their dogs, will be heard Wednesday by the House Judiciary Committee. Identical House and Senate bills seek to create a new standard where all dog owners in civil action cases, regardless of the dog’s breed, are presumed liable for attacks unless owners can prove they did everything possible to avoid the attack, said Sen. Brian Frosh, sponsor of the Senate bill. It would also reverse the strict liability on landlords. “The interest groups: pet owners, landlords, and animal rights groups are pleased with it,” said Frosh, a Montgomery County Democrat who is also chairman of …
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Pit bull owner responds to a letter to the editor posted on Patch earlier this month by Kevin Dunne, the attorney who argued the "pit bull" case before Maryland's Court of Appeals.
Adopting a pit bull-type dog is a life-changing experience. First and foremost, one experiences the sheer joy and emotional fulfillment these types of dogs can bring into one's life. Far from the constant aggression and violence typically reflected in the snarling stock photos accompanying news headlines, the pit bull-type dog is, by nature, a jester. They respond to laughter like no other dog I have owned, and their relaxed, pleasant demeanor inspires that laughter like no other dog I've owned. They are athletic enough to accompany me on trail runs and hikes, but lazy enough at the end of the day to be a lap dog. Adopting a pit bull is a life-changing experience for a second reason: it starts with living every day in defiance of those …
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
Court removes references to pit bull mixes while leaving owners and landlords responsible for injuries caused by pure-bred dogs.
UPDATED (4:27 p.m.)—The Maryland Court of Appeals will not reconsider an April decision in which it ruled that pit bull dogs are"inherently dangerous." Judge Alan Wilner, in a nine-page decision issued Tuesday, denied the motion for reconsideration with one caveat. (The full decision is attached to this story.) "That said, having re-read the briefs, relevant portions of the record extract, and the dissent, I am now convinced that, on the record before us, the application of the Court’s holding of strict liability to cross-bred pit bulls was both gratuitous and erroneous," wrote Wilner. "I would grant the motion for reconsideration, in part, to delete any reference to cross-bred pit bulls, so that the Court’s holding would apply only to pit…
Monday, July 30, 2012
Four-page opinion hints that justices will likely overturn Maryland ruling involving the collection of samples from people charged with felonies.
UPDATED (6:00 p.m.)—U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts continued a stay in the Maryland Court of Appeals ruling that had stopped police departments in Maryland from collecting DNA samples from some arrestees. With the delay continued, police in Maryland can continue to collect the samples until the Supreme Court issues an opinion. Roberts, in a four-page order, wrote that there is a reasonable chance that Maryland could win its appeal and overturn the Court of Appeals ruling. "[The Maryland Court of Appeals] decision conflicts with decisions of the U. S. Courts of Appeals for the Third and Ninth Circuits as well as the Virginia Supreme Court, which have upheld statutes similar to Maryland’s DNA Collection Act," Roberts wrote. …
Thursday, May 31, 2012
The Senate and House majority leaders put the task force in writing on Wednesday.
The leaders of Maryland’s General Assembly have created a task force to study the recent court ruling on pit bulls, according to The Washington Post. The Maryland Court of Appeals ruled at the end of April that pit bulls were "inherently dangerous" and in the event of an attack, it was not necessary to prove that a pit bull had a history of violence; if the owner/landlord knew the dog was a pit bull or pit mix, that person is automatically liable for damages. "Right now, Maryland is the only state that has made this declaration with regard to pit bulls," Delegate Curt Anderson (D-Baltimore City), chair of the newly-created pit bull task force, said on WBAL Radio Thursday. Citizens have rallied in opposition to the ruling, which they say …
Real Estate Bulls
1:37 am on Thursday, April 18, 2013
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