Falletti

This case arises from a dog attack resulting in tragic injuries to 11-year-old Cody F. The attack occurred on a private road within a subdivision and was witnessed by Cody’s mother and sister. The respondents, property owners and association members in the Rancho Tehama Subdivision Association (RTA), owned access easements over the road. Respondents obtained favorable dispositions on the pleadings in the trial court and Cody, his mother and sister have appealed.

Appellants ask this court to expand the scope of an easement owner’s liability to cover this fact situation, even though the owner did not create the hazard, did not own the dogs, had no interest in the land from which the dogs escaped and did not own the road where the attack took place. The suggested basis for this expanded liability is the respondents’ right to use the roads within the subdivision and their status as association members of a planned unit development. In general, courts have imposed a duty to prevent the harm caused by a third party’s animal when a defendant possesses the means to control the animal or the relevant property and can take steps to prevent the harm. Appellants’ theory does not fit…