03x107 - Pit Bull Peril

[bunniefuu]

[Judy] Your dog has now
caused injury to somebody.

I don't know why you're smiling.
You're such an idiot.

I don't think that it's funny
that she got hurt,

but my dogs are not vicious.
I just cannot agree with that.

I don't give a rats behind whether
you agree or not, madam,

that you're too stupid to understand that

is something you have to take up with
your parents or your therapist. Not me.

-[announcer] This is Judy Justice.
-[theme song]

[announcer] Susan Ferguson is suing
her neighbor Tanisha Harrison

-for damages from a dog attack.
-[Kevin] Court come to order. All rise.

[Judy] Have a seat, please.

[Kevin]
Case 3158, Ferguson versus Harrison.

-Thank you.
-You're welcome.

Ms. Ferguson, it is your claim that the
defendant's dog, her unleashed dog,

caused a serious injury to you,
compound fracture of your ankle,

and injury to your dog, a puncture wound
that was in fact tended to by a vet.

You were hospitalized for four days.
Most of your medical bills were covered.

You did have some that were not.

Your lawsuit asks
that she'd be responsible

for your injury, the dog's,
including pain and suffering.

-Yes, ma'am.
-Ms. Harrison said... "all your fault".

That seems to be your...

-That is correct.
-[Judy] Okay.

On what date did this incident occur
with Ms. Harrison's dog?

-It was April 27th of 2023.
-What kind of dog do you have?

[Susan]
I have a... he's a mutt.

We believe he is part poodle,
part schnauzer. He was a rescue.

-[Judy] How old is he?
-I believe he's three.

-[Judy] And how much does he weight?
-22 pounds.

And you were taking him out for a walk?

[Susan] I was taking him out
for a bathroom break, actually.

-Yes.
-I... work eight hours a day,

-got off work, came home.
-So what time was this?

-So it was probably 3:30.
-[Judy] In the afternoon?

Yes. And I took him out for a bathroom
break and it happened... so quickly.

I was... usually I go down my drive. And...

Show me where you live. Could you walk
over there and show me where you live?

Yes.

Actually...

So, from her house...

Show me where you came out.
I see what you're...

So there's a driveway.
I have pictures. That might be better.

-[Judy] Fine.
-Why don't we do that, ma'am.

While she's looking for those photographs,

Ms. Harrison, that is
a photograph of your house.

-So the two of you were neighbors?
-[Tanisha] That is correct.

-What kind of a dog do you have?
-I have a pit bull.

-[Judy] How old?
-[Tanisha] Three.

-[Judy] How long have you had him?
-[Tanisha] Three years.

-So that's your only dog you have?
-I have two dogs.

-Two. Two pit bulls?
-[Tanisha] Yeah.

-Both the same age?
-[Tanisha] The boy is four.

-[Judy] And this is a girl?
-Yes.

[Kevin]
Okay. Her house is here. Behind here.

Goes around here and... that's her house.

-Did you understand that, Kevin?
-[Kevin laughs]

-No, I didn't see the house. Yeah.
-No. I'm just telling you.

-Did you understand that explanation?
-[Kevin] No. No.

Okay. So...okay. You're out...
dog is on a potty break and...

[Susan] Okay. So, her dog came
around and that's basically...

-Came around where?
-From her backyard into our yard,

and then around the corner,
and then down the alley.

And the alley that you're
referring to is right here?

-[Susan] Yes, ma'am.
-And that's where you encountered her dog?

-Yes, ma'am.
-And there was broken pavement here.

And what happened
when you encountered her dog?

Her dog charged my dog and latched on.
And my dog started squealing.

And I was trying to get in between them.

And as I did that,
her dog knocked me down.

I fell. It startled her dog.
Her dog released my dog.

I was able to grab onto her dog's collar.
Hold on for dear life.

And then a resident of her
house heard me screaming or...

and he came running and grabbed the dog.

-[Judy] A male?
-A male.

-Who grabbed the dog?
-I grabbed the dog.

Why would she say a male grabbed the dog

-if it was you. You can't be mistaken.
-[Tanisha] I...

It was a male.

Honestly, this has been a ongoing thing.
There was no male.

My dog got loose. My dog didn't...

-Just a second.
-...leave the neighborhood or, the yard.

Your dog was off leash. You acknowledge
that your dog was off leash?

-Yes, ma'am.
-[Judy] Right.

And let's say
the dog didn't leave your yard,

-which I don't believe.
-[Tanisha] Okay.

But let's say that, 'cause we're gonna
come back to her injuries in a moment,

-which were serious.
-[Tanisha] Mhm.

You acknowledge
that her injuries were serious.

I read your answer
and what your answer says was

you start out by saying,
"I unlatched my door

and the dog pushed out
without my realizing it.

The dog pushed out the front door
after I had unlatched it."

That's the way you started
your answer, right?

-That's correct.
-[Judy] Yes, that's what you said.

Do you want me to read what you said
or does that refresh your recollection?

-You can read it.
-[Judy] Okay. Fine.

"On the day in question,
my door did not fully latch,

and my dog pushed his way outside.
I followed him to the yard."

That is correct. I did not unlatch
the door at that time.

-"Did not fully latch".
-That is correct.

[Judy] Okay. I mean... it's semantics.
The dog got out without a leash.

-Correct.
-[Judy] A pit bull?

-[Tanisha] That's correct.
-A pit bull. Okay.

-And you own your own house?
-I do not own it.

-[Judy] You rent it?
-I do.

-[Judy] You have renter's insurance?
-I do not.

Oh, that's a pity.
Did you try to get renter's insurance?

-I did not.
-[Judy] Alright. That's a good thing,

'cause they usually don't issue renter's
insurance to people who have pit bulls

and also a variety of other dogs
that have been deemed to be dangerous.

So if you have a pit bull, you gotta
keep it under control at all times,

because they are capable
of serious damage.

-You do understand that, don't you?
-I do understand that.

Great. And you do understand that if,
as you indicated in your answer,

the pavement she was
walking on was cracked...

-Absolutely agree with you.
-[Tanisha] Mhm.

I see the photos
and I absolutely agree with you.

For the purposes of this argument, did not
come into physical contact with her,

but that she turned to run away
from your unleashed dog.

For the purposes of this discussion,
you don't think you're responsible?

-I do not, ma'am.
-[Judy] Well then, I...

[chuckles] then I'm here to tell you
you are legally responsible

because the sidewalk was uneven.

But if I believe you,
which I don't 'cause you weren't there.

If I believe you,
your dog came out unleashed

and she, for whatever reason,
she's small, she's frail,

she turned to run away from your dog,

'cause that's what you say here.
She turned.

So when she tried to run,
what was she running from?

She wasn't running from a mugger.
She wasn't running from a burning fire.

What was she running from?

-Your Honor...
-[Judy] Just a second.

Not a "Your Honor." You answer
my question. Rightly or wrongly.

She was running away from an 80-pound pit
bull that you allowed to run unleashed,

whether it was on your property or not.
I don't believe it was on your property,

but let's say I believe...
It doesn't matter.

Your unleashed dog put in a series of
events in place that caused her injury.

Don't you understand that?

I mean, are you that stupid
that you don't understand that?

[theme music]

Your conduct put in place a course
of events which caused her injury.

I can't agree.

[Judy] I don't give a rats behind
whether you agree or not, madam,

that you're too stupid to understand that

is something you have to take up with
your parents or your therapist. Not me.

[theme music]

[announcer] Susan Ferguson
claims her neighbor Tanisha Harrison

is responsible for damages after Tanisha's
pit bull attacked Susan and her dog.

I'm gonna say it again. Your unlatched
door allowed your 80-pound pit bull

to get out unleashed
and run into your yard.

She got frightened, if I'm believing your
scenario, that's not what she says.

If I believe your scenario...
she got frightened and turned to run.

-That's what you said.
-I agree that my dog did get loose.

My dog did not leave my property.
If she was frightened,

she could have slipped over her dog, or...

But there was no reason
for her to be scared.

[Judy] There was no reason for...
I wanna tell you something.

If I were walking with my dog,
which is much smaller,

and I saw an 80-pound pit bull running
without a leash, I would be petrified.

I would turn and run,

or do what you're supposed to do
with a grizzly bear, stand there.

But I would turn, and run,
and be frightened.

And that series of events
which caused her accident

were put in motion by the fact that your
unleashed dog was out unattended.

-That's...
-I can't agree.

I don't give a rats behind
whether you agree or not, madam,

that you are too stupid to understand that

is something you have to take up
with your parents or your therapist.

Not me. That's the law.

Your conduct put in place a course
of events which caused her injury.

Your negligence in not keeping your
dog leashed and in your home

precipitated her injury, or as they put
it in a very famous case in the law,

"But For" your action,
she would not be injured.

But for the fact
that your dog got out unattended,

whether the dog pushed her
or if she got frightened,

that series of events was precipitated
by your negligence.

Whether you agree with me or not, I don't
care. And whether you understand that

and whether you're simpleminded
and don't get it, I can't control that.

You choose to have
two potentially dangerous dogs

that other people are afraid of.

-My dogs are not vicious.
-I wanna tell you something.

The last article that I got was two weeks
ago about a pit bull k*lling a baby.

-Not my dog.
-[Judy] Now, my...

I have to tell you something,
I have a little dog, right?

And yesterday I was playing with her
and playing with a sock.

And I was making-believe
that my hand, like an idiot,

was a sock, was a puppet,
and she was trying to get it.

And one of her little teeth went through
my arm. So I put some peroxide on it.

She's not an 80-pound dog

that is number one on every state's
most dangerous dog list. Numero uno.

You choose to have...
you and the rest of the stupid people

that choose to have those dogs,

you have to take responsibility
for other people being frightened of them.

Madam, I can't tell you why
I have a drawer full of people who say,

"My dog would never hurt anybody."

But I have to tell you,
other people don't feel that way.

So if you choose to have a pit bull,

you make damn sure that that
dog is under your control at all times.

Can I see photographs
of your injuries, please?

-You have medical reports?
-[Susan] I've never seen this picture.

-I never wanna see it, but...
-[Judy] Okay.

...that's the picture
of my injury. [chuckles]

Okay. Actually a little skittish
myself about those things.

But usually only when they are on me.

[laughs] I can usually look at them
if they're on somebody else.

-[hums] Serious. Very serious.
-[takes a deep breath]

I assume that the maximum
jurisdictional financial limit

in your jurisdiction is $6,500...

-Yes, ma'am.
-[Judy] ...is that correct?

'Cause I wondered
where you got that number from.

What kind of work do you do Ms. Harrison?

I'm a quote specialist in insurance.

-For insurance?
-[Tanisha] That's correct.

-[laughs]
-[courtroom laughs]

-Who do you live with?
-Myself and my children.

-How many children?
-[Tanisha] Three.

-How old are they?
-Fourteen and two eight-year-olds.

And I do have a paper
I'd like you to take a look at

that shows that all of the...
everything that she is claiming

was unknown at... on this day.

-It all came after her incident.
-[Judy] Okay.

I'm gonna see what you have to tell me.

The admission date was April 27th,
which was the date of this incident.

You actually said that you saw your dog,
so you know that she fell.

And you actually say
that you took the dog...

you say you took the dog back to
your house. She said it was a male.

And since I don't believe
that the dog was on your front lawn,

I tend to doubt everything else
that you're telling me.

But you said you saw and heard ambulances
and fire trucks right afterwards.

You said... so I don't understand
what you're telling me.

[Tanisha] It was probably about 10 to 15
minutes that I heard the ambulance arrive.

-I didn't realize at the time that she...
-[Judy] Just a second.

When you grabbed your dog,
did you see the plaintiff?

-I did see the plaintiff. Did I...
-[Judy] And where... just a second.

-And where was she when you saw her?
-She was up by her home.

-[Judy] Was she on the ground?
-[Tanisha] No.

[Judy]
What was she doing?

She had her dog, so it appeared
she was gonna take it on a walk.

I'm not for sure... [laughs]
what she was doing.

-[Judy] Okay.
-Your Honor, I do...

-[Judy] Um, just a... just a second.
-I'm sorry.

You know, not only do
I think that you're stupid

for having two pit bulls
in your house with two small children,

which you've had for four years, according
to you, one, and three years another.

So that to me, in and of itself says that
you are a negligent parent and stupid.

However, when I read your answer,

which you probably don't remember,
let me read what you said

when you wanna show me that
this didn't occur because of your dog.

-Okay.
-[Judy] This is your sworn statement.

"My dog went to the end of my property
to check out the plaintiff and her dog.

He was calm and wagging his tail. The
plaintiff's dog was skittish and barking.

As my dog approached,
the plaintiff freaked out.

I believe she was being extra paranoid
because she was high.

She lunged backward
trying to pull her dog away.

The pavement she was walking on
was cracked and uneven,

and lifting up in several spots. So when
she tried to run, she tripped and fell.

She ended up falling on her dog."
That's your sworn statement.

That's a little different
from what you just told me.

-I'm pretty sure... [chuckles]
-[Judy] Ah!

That's a little different
from what you just told me.

-I did not see her actually fall.
-[Judy] Just a...

-I didn't learn that afterwards.
-...just a sec.

Then, why did you swear to this?

-I may have worded it wrong.
-[Judy] You didn't word it wrong.

You worded it to suit the best possible
scenario you could for you.

[theme music]

My dogs are not vicious.
I just cannot agree with that.

If she fell, that was on her own time.

[Judy] I'm just telling you, stupid,
you said, "She got frightened

and she turned away to run away from my
dog that got out from an unlatched door."

[theme music]

[announcer] Susan Ferguson
has accused her neighbor Tanisha Harrison

of owing for damages after Tanisha's
pit bull attacked Susan and her dog.

Somehow you snowed animal control,

'cause if they didn't take custody of
your dog, there was something... what?

-I have a report here.
-[Judy] May I see it, please?

Okay. So then, the synopsis
of the Iowa Police Department says,

"April 27, 3:51, I was dispatched
to an address

in regard to an ambulance call
involving a possible dog attack.

I was told that Susan Ferguson had fallen
while trying to protect her dog, Max,

from the neighbor's pit bull
resulting in a broken ankle.

At this point, I was unaware of any of the
issues involving the neighbor's dog/dogs,

and thought this to be
an isolated incident.

It was also unknown
at this time that Ms. Ferguson's dog

had sustained some injuries
from the neighbor's dog.

Officer knocked on..." your door,
"where Tanisha Harrison answered.

We informed her of the incident next door,

and she confirmed her dog
was in the house

as well as the dog had
managed to slip out the back door,

which led to the incident with Ferguson.
Harrison was apologetic about the incident

and due to the fact that it
appeared to be an isolated instance,

no citation was issued.
An unknown amount of time passes

before I was contacted by Ferguson
with regards to the incident

where I learned that Max
had actually been injured."

Max is your dog
that had been injured as well.

"And that there had been previous issues
involving Harrison's dogs getting loose.

After learning of this being
an ongoing issue,

I informed Ferguson to call in
and report the dogs at large

at any time she sees them
off their own property

so we could establish
a pattern of offenses."

That's the police report.
You have a different report?

-No, I have that same report. Yeah.
-[Judy] Okay.

I don't even have to...
your dog is okay now?

-Yes, he is.
-[Judy] It was taken to the vet

-by somebody else?
-Mhm.

[Judy]
Alright. Ms. Harrison, as I said,

you get the impression
that I think that your negligence

in keeping these two pit bulls in your
house with small children is problematic.

You understand that. And I understand
all you pit bull lovers out there,

you're gonna write me nasty notes.
Don't bother. I don't read them.

Your dog has now caused
injury to somebody.

If your dog causes injury again,
this lady is gonna know about it

because she's still your neighbor,
or did you move?

I still live there, yes.

-[Judy] And you still live there?
-Yes.

So she will know. So hopefully, when one
of your dogs decides to act out again,

it's not with one of your eight-year-olds.

Now, I know that you think
that that's impossible.

If I knew you better and if I wanted to
get to know you better, which I don't,

I would take you into my office
and show you a drawer full of articles

that people send me about their
grandchildren, their neighbor,

their parent, or themselves who have been
seriously injured or k*lled by a pit bull.

I never knew
anybody that got k*lled by a Shih Tzu.

Never. So you choose to have
a dangerous animal in your house.

That's totally your bag.
She's suing you for $6,500.

If the court could award her more
than that, which I can't, I would.

If you work for an insurance company

and you give quotes for insurance,
you should have renter's insurance.

So... I don't know why you're smiling.
You're such an idiot.

Did you see how much damage
to her leg your dog caused?

Did you take a look at it? I want you to
think about one of your eight-year-olds

having a bone come through their leg...

-Your Honor...
-[Judy] ...caused by some... listen to me,

caused by somebody else. You see that
stupid smile that you have on your face?

-I don't think that it's funny...
-[Judy] You've...

...that she got hurt,
but my dogs are not vicious.

I just cannot agree with that.
My dog did not cause her any... there's no...

if she fell, that was on her own time.

I'm just telling you, stupid. You wrote to
me what you saw that afternoon.

You said, "She got frightened and she
turned away to run away from my dog

that got out from an unlatched door."
That's what you wrote here.

And I'm telling you that that's the law.

But for your negligence
and letting that dog

-out of the house unleashed, she...
-[Tanisha] The dog was in its yard.

Just a second. I don't care.

But for your negligence in allowing
the unleashed dog out of your house,

she would not be injured. And if you
don't get that, I'm really sorry.

And I'm sorry that you had three children

because I hope that they're smarter
than their mother.

This case is over.
$6,500 judgment for the plaintiff.

-We're done.
-This court is adjourned.

Thank you, Your Honor.

My dogs are not vicious, and I just cannot
agree with the way that it turned out.

I'm happy with it. I definitely need the
money to help me with my medical bills.

The dog did not touch her dog,
which she is claiming my dog attacked.

He had three puncture wounds.

My dog did get out the door,
but the dog did not leave my property.

I wish Tanisha well.

She's actually a very sweet lady
and gonna try to be good neighbors.

We're gonna continue our daily life.
I'm just happy my dog is around.

You know, every jurisdiction
has a list of dogs

that statistically are the most dangerous.
So first, I don't understand why people,

why you would choose a dog
that is one of the top five,

in every jurisdiction,
most aggressive dogs

that have caused more injury, that have...

-[Sarah] Yeah.
-...had more lawsuits,

that have had more
hospital reports of injuries...

-[Sarah] Mhm.
-...the most coroner's reports of death.

Yeah, and that's the risk that they take.

And I feel like people don't think
of situations like we just saw

as frequently as they do the direct bites

or incidents directly dealing
with their pit bull.

The defendant here
was trying to make her point that,

"My dog never touched her.
My dog never touched her."

Well, she was still a plaintiff
as a result of your dog, like you said,

setting off this chain reaction. So
although your dog might not have bit her

or broken her leg by biting on her leg
and snapping it off,

that doesn't matter, it was still
as a result of your negligence

in letting your 80-pound,
all-muscle pit bull

that you know more than half
the population is afraid of,

-that caused all of this to unravel.
-Yeah.

And what I couldn't understand
was the inappropriate smile.

An incident involving your dog, whether
you agree or don't agree with my decision,

you have to appreciate the severity of it.

-Yeah.
-She actually saw her...

-according to her, saw her injured.
-[Sarah] Mhm.

Plaintiff said, "No, no, no,

-it was a guy who came out."
-Yeah.

[Judy] So I actually don't believe
much of what she said anyway...

-No.
-...because either she lied in court...

-[Sarah] Mhm.
-...or she lied in her affidavit.

-Mhm.
-[Judy] Either way, she lied,

and she's stupid
for having those dogs

around twins
who were then three years old.

-[Sarah] Yeah.
-Sorry.

[announcer] Are you a victim
of an as*ault?

[theme music]