01x30 - Trail Ride Disaster

[bunniefuu]

Your pony was injured?

And the dog lunged at the horse
and grabbed on to her nose.

Did you have control of your dogs?

-Um...
-Um...

You're embarrassing yourself
in front of your child.

[narrator] This is Judy Justice.

[theme music plays]

[narrator] Amber Mielke is suing
DiAngelo Larranaga

for vet bills and the loss of value
for her injured pony.

[Kevin] All rise!
Court come to order!

Hello, Judge. We have case number 1018.

Mielke vs. Larranaga.

Thank you. Be seated, please.

Ms. Mielke, you and a group
of friends, family, kids,

decided to take a long ride,
according to your complaint,

with your horses
to some sort of a state park.

Little Missouri State Park
in North Dakota.

[Judy] How long a trip did you make?

I believe it was three days of riding,
five days total with the travel.

And on what date did you arrive?

The incident was on the 30th,
so that would've been

the twenty... eighth
that we arrived?

Did you ride on the 29th?

Correct. Yep. We rode for two days
prior to the incident.

[Judy] So you actually
rode your horses.

How many horses were there in total?

There were three horses and three ponies.

-How many people?
-Um...

Two adults, six children.

So some people,
some kids rode along with a parent.

Correct. Yeah, my daughter
rode behind me on my horse.

Elayna had her son behind her
on her horse,

and also her younger child
on the front in a... one of those carry...

And the other two rode ponies separately.

The first day that you rode,
did you have a pleasant day?

Yeah, the first day was pleasant.

[Judy] You rode in the park?

Correct. Yup.

Had you seen other people in the park?

Correct. Yes.

-[Judy] Were there other people?
-Yes.

-[Judy] Had any difficulty?
-[Amber] No.

[Judy] How many hours
a day did you ride?

We typically go on three
to four-hour rides at a time.

[Judy] So three to four hours
the first day you arrived

and three to four hours
the second day you arrived.

-Correct.
-And did you see other people in the park?

Yes.

[Judy]
Were there other animals in the park?

-[Amber] Yes.
-[Judy] Horses?

Horses and dogs.

-Any incidents?
-No.

[Judy] Now we're gonna
get to the 30th.

What time of the day did you leave?

I would guess around 9:30.

[Judy] And what time
did this incident occur?

Before noon, I would say around


So you were riding for at least
an hour and a half.

-Mm-hmm.
-[Judy] With all?

Correct.
Everyone was on the ride with us.

[Judy] All eight people
and all the horses.

-Yes.
-[Judy] Now I want you to describe to me

the incident that occurred
that brings us to court today.

Okay, when we trail ride, we ride...

the trails are narrow so we ride
in a line or...

one at... single file,
I guess is the best way to describe it.

So, yeah, we were out on the trail riding.

The younger girl that was with us
that was 13

was in the lead on one of my horses.

All the horses there
that weekend were mine.

They're all trained by me. Um...

-And don't editorialize, just tell me...
-[Amber] Sorry. Sorry.

-Just tell me about the incident.
-Okay.

Yeah, so...

as we are riding,

headed towards camp,

we saw some cows off in the distance

and they sounded like
they were in distress.

When cows are in distress,
they're bellowing.

So we heard the cows,
we saw some dogs,

and we thought, well,
maybe the ranchers are just moving

their cattle to another pasture.
No big deal.

We're used to cows and dogs,
so no big deal.

As we came over the hill,
towards where the cattle were,

as... once we came over,

there was a dog
that met us at the top of the hill.

And the horses stopped and kinda froze...

-[Judy] Okay, one sec.
-Okay.

-You're riding on a trail.
-Correct.

It's a narrow trail. So the lead horse
that was being ridden by a 13-year-old...

Correct.

-But you could see her.
-Mm-hmm.

-'Cause you were...
-I was second in line.

[Judy] And when you say,
"a dog met us at the top of the hill,"

was there a person with the dog?

-No.
-[Judy] And what did the dog look like?

[Amber] It was a husky

with a curved tail,
like greyish-white in color? Um...

[Judy] Okay, now tell
me what happened.

Okay, so I told the girl in front, Maddie,

"Just, uh, stay calm," you know,
'cause we weren't sure

what the dog would do.

But before anything else happened,
the dog lunged at the horse

and grabbed on to her nose.

And this... So, it grabbed on to the nose.
The horse turned,

out, you know, being spooked from
this and ran back down the hill.

But then when that horse ran,

all the other horses in turn continued,
and the dog continued chasing

the horse and biting its heels,
causing it to run faster.

And the horses just spooked more.

Now, when the dog was running
after the lead horse,

did you see a person?

Not immediately.

Okay. At what point did you see a person?

After my horse had turned around

and we were headed the other way,

I could hear someone shouting
and see someone running behind me.

Is that person in court today?

Yes.

Point.

[Judy] That would be the defendant.

-Mr. Larranaga.
-[Amber] Correct.

-[Judy] Could you hear what he was saying?
-Yes. He said, "I'm so... sorry."

The exact words.

That's about right.

Okay, and that's what this case is about.

Your pony was injured,
you had vet bills,

he was out of commission for a long time.

You're gonna have to prove to me,
if I find in your favor,

that the pony that was injured
was devalued because of the injury.

Yes.

[Judy] In any event, there was
one pony that was injured

that ran into a fence.

Yes, there was one pony
that was seriously injured.

All the horses did receive cuts
and bruises and minor injuries.

Also as a result of this,
I see from your complaint

that people fell off their horses.

Yes, correct.
Everyone fell off except for me.

All the kids were very
traumatized by this incident.

Sorry. [chuckles]

-Everybody fell off the horses.
-Correct.

-[Judy] Except you.
-Except me.

[Judy] And the defendant was in a position

to see that everybody
fell off their horses.

-[Amber] Yes.
-Did he ever retrieve his dog?

How did he retrieve his dog?

Not until about a mile down the trail.

The horses followed the way
that they had came from.

They ran into a barbed-wire fence
and that's where they were cornered

-and had to stop.
-[Judy] And is that where the dog was?

I was not there, but when we got
to where the horses were,

the defendant was there with his dogs.

-[Judy] How many dogs did he have?
-Two.

[Judy] Was it both that were
chasing the horses?

-Yes. Yes.
-[Judy] Or just one?

One that was biting, that I could see.
Both were chasing.

You're on!

How do I begin?

Uh, well, try to begin with the truth.

That's always
the easiest thing to begin with.

I read her complaint, I read your answer.

Now you're gonna have to convince me
about the veracity of your answer.

Which I don't believe.

-Um...
-Um...

Would you like me to start from the top?

From how our day... begins?

I'm not... I'm not interested in your day.

[laughter]

[dramatic music]

Unless you were running very fast
and holding on to the dog,

which she didn't see,

then I don't believe you!

What you wrote in your answer was,
what she's telling me

is a complete bunch
of "who shot John."

[theme music plays]

[narrator] Amber Mielke claims
DiAngelo Larranaga's off-leash dogs

attacked her horses,
causing them serious injuries.

[Judy] Okay,
I'm interested in one thing.

Did you have control of your dogs?

Yes, I did.

Okay, well, that's what you're
gonna have to convince me of, sir.

[DiAngelo] I'm ready.

Because unless you were running very fast
and holding on to the dog

that met her up at the top of the ridge,

holding on, which she didn't see,

and was running at a heavy pace,

holding on to the dog's collar
as the dog was chasing the horses,

then I don't believe you!

You see, and if I were to believe you,

because that's what
you wrote in your answer.

What you wrote in your answer was
what she's telling me

is a complete bunch of "who shot John."

-Which it is.
-[Judy] That... it is.

I don't believe you!

-[DiAngelo] Well, it is. I had them...
-So get it together!

And take a deep breath.
Take a deep breath

because if you think that I think
that you and your son

were out at the park
with your dogs on leashes,

I'm 29 and 5'7".

-[audience laughs]
-[DiAngelo and Judy chuckle]

Well, my dogs were on leash
as we came through the state park.

Um, we were walking over two miles
without seeing a single person.

We decided to take lunch and that's when
I did let my dogs off-leash.

Just say that "I let my dogs off-leash"!

[DiAngelo] They were off-leash.

We were taking lunch
and we were in an open field.

[Judy] Okay, not... just a second.
Not only off-leash,

you had taken the leash off the dogs

so that just their collars were on.

-[DiAngelo] That is correct.
-[Judy] That is correct. All right.

So let's not say, "We were taking lunch
and I dropped the leash,

you know, and I ran after
and I grabbed the leash."

You took the collar off the dog

because you were having lunch

so you were no longer
in control of your dog.

My dogs listen and they are trained.

-They are under my control.
-[Judy chuckles]

Just that, no, sir.
[chuckles]

Clearly not!

This is not my fault.

I do not know what actually
spooked her horse.

I know for a fact my horse never bit her.

[Judy] I don't care! Just a second.
I don't know what you know

because you weren't there.

-I was there. I had my dog.
-[Judy] No! You...

No! You were not there.

I don't believe you were there.

Her horses were halfway spooked
coming up the hill.

I don't know if it's because
they heard us or what,

but I know for a fact my dog
did not bite her horse.

[Judy] Just a second. You know,
just... What I find fascinating is

that you just get yourself into it.

"Her horses were spooked before
they got to the top of the hill."

How could you see that?
Just a second.

Do you have X-ray vision through a hill?

I mean, you're taking lunch.

Your dogs are off-leash.

And you're looking because
you see through a hill

that her horses were spooked
before they got to the top of the hill.

It wasn't much of a hill.

-They... I saw them peeking over the hill.
-[Judy stammers]

-I... I...
-[Judy] Well, how high was the hill?

Was the top of the hill taller than you?

Not more than eight feet tall.

Well, I can't see through
an eight-feet-tall hill.

What I mean to say is,
as the dogs crested over...

or the horses crested over the hill,
that's when they became spooked.

I don't know if there was
a snake in the bush...

I don't know if there was
something else there.

I don't care what you think.

She was the second person in line.

She saw what happened.
You did not see what happened.

So did I. I had my dogs right there by me.

No, I don't believe you.
Sir, I don't believe you.

And I would suggest that...
This is your son?

Yeah.

And I would suggest that
you not put him up on the stand.

He's already heard his father tell a fib
and I don't want to put your son,

your young son, in a position
where he's gonna do what you just did,

which is tell a fib.

-I'm not fibbing...
-[Judy] Which is tell a... Oh, yes, you...

Oh, absolutely.

I mean, any person with a brain
can see exactly what happened.

You were doing what you were doing,
you were having lunch.

I mean, because I don't know how you
were having lunch at the top of a hill.

-[DiAngelo] It was an open field.
-You said yourself...

You said, it was...
it was a portable lunch.

You were having your sandwich.

Sure, yes.

[laughs]

-We're on a hike...
-I love it!

-I mean, we had to take something to eat.
-I love it.

I... love...

-It's embarrassing. You're being...
-The trail itself is over five miles.

You're embarrassing yourself
in front of your child.

-I don't feel embarrassed.
-You're embarrass...

Well, I'm embarrassed for him.

That's what happened.
When something happens like that,

it's not something
that you did intentionally, sir.

You were in a state park
with your two dogs, off-leash.

Whatever excuse you made
that you were walking with them,

with their leashes all morning
and you decided to take lunch

at 11:30 in the mor...
[laughs] He did say 11:30, did he not?

[DiAngelo] It was about that time.

Well, she said
it was between 11 and 11:30.

She said "Before noon, I would say
around 11 or 11:30.

-Somewhere in there."
-Okay.

So you decided to take an early lunch.

And it was at that point
you want me to believe

that when you were taking an early lunch
and having a sandwich,

which gave you the ability
to have control over your dog,

that you're on this hill,
and you saw through the hill

that the horse was spooked

when they were
on the other side of the hill,

and you were on the other side of the hill

and you saw that your dog,

because your dog is under
your verbal control,

you saw that your dog did not
either go after the horse...

Even if the dog didn't go after the horse,

to come up to it and bark,

not under your control,
and then chase it,

chase it to the fence
is what you're telling me

if you say your dog
did not chase the horses.

Pay attention to my question.

Then what you're telling me is,

you had control of your dog,

you took your dog
and you did not get to the scene

of where the horses stopped.

That's just...
Think about the answer first.

If you what you want me to believe is,

and what you're telling me is
you had control of your dog,

one or both,

that you wouldn't go running after
your dog down to a fence.

I was not running after my dog.

-Okay, so did your...
-I was trying to help the situation.

I saw that everybody had fallen,

I grabbed the leash,
I did chase...

-...my dog for two seconds. Okay.
-[Judy chuckles]

Do you understand
what I'm saying to you, sir?

-[DiAngelo] Yes, I do. I do.
-You understand what I'm saying to you?

-My dog wouldn't... But I didn't have to...
-[Judy] You sound... you sound...

-foolish.
-Okay.

Because there's no way
that a normal person

with any common sense at all
is assessing this testimony,

which you keep changing, by the way,
you keep tripping yourself up.

You keep tripping just a little bit.

"I did chase it but just for two seconds."

How do you chase a dog for two seconds
that you have control over?

-Well...
-How do you chase a dog for two seconds?

She was riled up as well by the horses
just jumping around.

I-I mean, there's no...
there's no reason they should have...

Been on the trail.
You wanna say that?

"There's no reason that the horses
should have been on the trail."

Without being trained enough
to deal with a dog that barks...

[laughs]
They were out there for two days!

Without incident. In a park.

With lots of people and lots of dogs.

-[DiAngelo] Right.
-You and your kid decided

to take your dogs off-leash
and there was a terrible accident.

And you have to take responsibility

for the ultimate result
of not having control of your dogs!

People could've gotten seriously injured.

Now, it may be in a state park,
people are willing to take that risk.

Listen, my dogs are very good dogs.

They... We were in the park...
Uncross your arms.

My dogs are very good dogs.

They follow my direction.

But there's a reason
that we require people

to have control of their dogs
at all times because...

accidents happen,
and you don't make up a foolish story,

-especially to this face...
-[chuckles]

in front of, hopefully,
tens of millions of people,

[chuckles]

that doesn't take responsibility.

And if you say, you know,
"My dog was there,

we had been camping for three days,
never had any incident.

It ran up the hill,
I didn't think anything of it.

I didn't know horses
were coming over the hill.

The horses got spooked."

But there's a rule in the law
and it's called "but-for."

It's a simple rule.

It probably has some sort
of a Latin name.

But I'm a simple girl from Brooklyn.

[laughter]

[music plays]

"But for" your actions,
this incident would not have occurred.

-It may have, though.
-[Judy] If you take a chance...

Just a second, this is not a dance
where you lead and then I lead.

-Sure.
-You talk,

I finish. That's the rule.

[theme music plays]

[narrator] Amber Mielke has accused
dog owner DiAngelo Larranaga

of injuring her horses.

Okay, but for the fact that you...

did not have control of your dogs,

this incident wouldn't have happened.

But-for, because they had been out
for at least six hours

over a two-day period,
maybe seven or eight

with other people who had dogs,
probably unleashed.

So you're at a state park,

you have dogs,
they like to run around.

You throw a frisbee,
they go and chase the frisbee.

Well, most of the time
nothing happens.

But in the unlikely event
that a three-year-old

catches the frisbee,
you never know what that dog's gonna do.

You take a risk when you
lose control of your dog.

What was the vet bill?

The total vet expenses were $2,243.79.

And I do have invoices for all of those.

[Judy] He doesn't doubt it.

Were the park rangers
called to this incident?

Yes, I did call them with my cellphone.

Did anything happen
as a result of that, sir?

Um, I did receive...

text messages, uh,
showing the injured pony.

[Judy] No, as a result of
the park ranger connection.

[DiAngelo] Oh, I'm sorry.

Well, yes, that, uh, case was dismissed.

Okay. What case?

The case of the state of North Dakota,

um, the county of Dunn.

-[Judy] So...
-Versus myself.

-[Judy] Okay. Were you arrested?
-[DiAngelo] No, I was not.

[Judy] Okay, were you cited?

-I... did receive a complaint.
-[Judy] Tell me how it happened.

-What?
-I did receive a complaint.

Okay, I'd like to see it.

Good.

-Thank you.
-Mm-hmm. Welcome.

Okay, well, this is a complaint.
And this complaint refers to a statute.

Sarah?

Could you pull up that statute for me?
Make sure it's...

I do have a copy of the statute.

-You do?
-Mm-hmm.

There should be other forms.

It's actually for disorderly conduct,
all right?

They could've arrested you,
but they did not.

Because that's what that document says.

-I suppose so.
-[Judy] That's a statute?

-I have it.
-You have it?

I believe this references sub-section G,
Your Honor...

-Thank you.
-...in the complaint.

Okay, so what happened
as a result of this?

-Did you have a hearing?
-I did.

And did you testify at the hearing?

-No.
-[Judy] You did not.

-No.
-Why not?

Uh, because the case was brought
in front of the judge.

-Um, and...
-[Judy] No, just a second.

If you don't appear for a hearing,
you're usually found guilty.

No, oh, I'm sorry.
Well, I did appear, I... [sighs]

It was just, uh, because of COVID,
it was a Zoom call.

-Do you know what I'm doing?
-I guess I'm misunderstanding, is all.

Uh, yes, I did appear in front of a judge,

and the case was dismissed.

Okay. And it was dismissed
under what condition?

Under the condition that, uh...

[Judy] Now, just a second,
I'd like to see the Notice of Dismissal.

Did you testify at this hearing?

The case was dismissed because
the attorney did not show.

And the judge let the case go.

Which attorney didn't show?

-The state's attorney.
-The state's attorney didn't show up?

-[Amber] Mm-hmm.
-[laughs]

The judge dismissed all cases
that day for that state's attorney.

[laughs] Is it accurate
that the case was dismissed

because the other side didn't show up?

-That is true.
-[laughs] Okay.

That's an answer.
Good. All right.

Now, the remainder
of your damages is to

show me the depreciated value
to the pony.

-Do you have photographs of the pony?
-[Amber] I do.

And the injuries?

Oh.

Have you seen these photographs, sir?

[DiAngelo] I have seen some.

Your unleashed dogs caused
a great deal of damage.

I do believe that...

-I don't care what you believe.
-...the barbed wire

-scratched that dog... the horse...
-I don't... I don't...

I don't care what you believe.

I know my dog did not
bite her horse, so...

-He wasn't anywhere near the horse.
-Your unleashed animal

caused a domino effect,
which caused injury,

could've caused injury
to human beings.

You chose to have a dog unleashed.

Usually, it's okay.

This time, it was not.

Your choice. But for your actions,
this incident would not have occurred.

-It may have though.
-[Judy] You take a chance.

-Just a second. This is not a dance...
-[DiAngelo] Okay.

-where you lead and then I lead.
-[DiAngelo] Sure.

You talk, I finish.
That's the rule.

Yes, Your Honor.

Ms. Mielke, is this
the pony that was injured?

[Amber] Yes.

[Judy] And whose child
is riding the pony?

In that picture that you just showed
was my son Wyatt.

Okay. When did you purchase this pony?

I purchased the pony when
my son was three years old.

-[Judy] How old is he now?
-He's eight.

And has he ridden this pony
in competitions?

That looks like a competition picture.

Correct. He trained the pony himself
for the barrel racing.

The pony was broke to ride
but not trained for speed events.

Has he been able to ride the pony since,
in competition?

He has rode his pony...
He has rode his pony... not at events.

-"Not at events."
-[Amber] Correct.

Have there been any events?

There's been a few.

Is the pony capable of being ridden?

-Yes.
-That way.

I don't know that she'll ever ride
the same way as she was before.

Judging for the plaintiff
in the amount of $3,000.

We're finished. Thank you very much.

[Kevin] Court adjourned.

My kids were traumatized just as much
by the whole incident.

It was probably one of
the worst days of my life.

I know that we tried to help our best
to alleviate the situation.

They're not afraid of dogs. We have
three dogs at home that ride with us.

But our dogs also don't
bite our horses' faces.

I still don't believe that we're
responsible for this situation.

They were chasing cattle before,
that the owners were letting them.

You know it is... what it is.

You really came down hard
on that defendant in there.

I did.

Because any normal person understands

that when you take dogs to a state park,

you take big huskies, you know,
you gotta keep them on a leash.

And usually it's okay.
But this wasn't okay.

This turned out badly.

And it's a risk that you take,
but then if you take the risk,

and something bad happens,
you take responsibility for it.

And when you fabricate,
in front of your child,

that is the worst lesson
that you can teach them.

Anyway, that's why I got annoyed
with him.

[narrator] Have you been cheated?


[closing theme plays]