Have You Ever Sued Someone?

I think you have some great advice here re. small claims court so I won't repeat it. The other moms are correct in saying that you may not see a dime even if you are awarded a judgment, but I would not let that stop me.

You are not unethical or "sue happy" if you use the court system to right a wrong that has been done to you. That is why the system is there and why it is called "tort" (French for "wrong") law. Unfortunately in our society, there is a small percentage of people who are a) clueless; b) bullies or c) both. Tort law exists, in my opinion, to gently or not so gently persuade these people to do the right thing when they have wronged someone else.

I might try a slightly more devious route before small claims court. I might re-visit them with a copy of the vet bill and tell them that you are concerned for their dog. If it becomes a matter of public record--through a court case--that this is a malicious dog, and there is another incident, animal control might take their dog and euthanize it. If this is a one-time occurence and they can make sure the dog is secured, plus reimburse you, I would tell them I won't file a report. Maybe this will have some effect...

PS I hope your dog is OK and that kids in the area are safe from this dog! I think secure fencing is almost as important here as getting reimbursed!

Before you sue how about giving them the vet bill and asking them for payment. If they don't pay you then tell them you will see them in court.

I am actually originally from Washington County :) AND I have used their small claims court system in the past. Just go over to the courthouse and you can pick up the packet (or you can download it on line). Fill it out - be as concise as possible and be factual rather than emotional in the description section. Pay the fee to the clerk and small claims can be served by mail when the date is given (all the instructions are in the packet you will get). Make sure you go to court on the day or it will get dismissed if you do not appear. If the other party doesn't show, there will be a default judgment entered against them. No attorneys are allowed and the decision made that day is final (no appeal process). While they may not pay you, they will not be able to get any kind of credit until they do pay you (it will be on their credit report as a judgment).

Good luck!

We didn't sue, but we got sued. Our black lab got out of our yard and played with the neighbors cat a little too rough. Our dog loved cats oddly enough and our cat played back. The neighbors cat didn't play back and our lab ended up killing their cat. We had to pay the vet bills and to replace their $1200 cat. Our neighbors took us to small claims court, but we ended up just paying them the money they wanted to avoid having to take off work to go.

No, we have not sued anyone but we once had a neighbor who bragged one evening after a little too much wine about how much $$ they would get when they set up things and sued.

Mind you, the mom has a medical degree, our neighborhood is one of the higher end ones in the area, this is just how they made extra money. It was a game to them.

Thank God they sold the house, moved on and we have good neighbors now. Word travelled very quickly after the block party when she blabbed and they were practically shunned from then on because everyone knew they were sue happy.

It is unfortunate but many people do sue for the wrong reasons and it hurts the legitimate cases.

We spoke with our counsel after hearing this and we were told if anything every happened, to #1 get a police report. It most likely would be handled through small claims where you get a judgement and less likely that you "win" anything. No one "wins" in cases like this.

Do you plan to stay in your neighborhood? As the saying goes... if you can't get along with y our neighbors, then move.

Personally, I would chalk it up to an unfortunate experience and make sure my home was well fenced where no other dogs could get in.

I am sorry about your dog. You have to decide if suing is the right thing to do. Think about this from a realistic standpoint....not emotional. Ask a lawyer for advice.

Also talk to Animal Control and see if the dog is properly registered. I have 3 dogs and I believe in being responsible. If one my dogs injured another pet I would not wait for the injured pet's owner to ask me to pay the vet bill.

We had a worse incident in our neighborhood a few years ago. The single guy has 2 large dogs who would get out frequently and attack both people and dogs.

One morning, my neighbors mom was dog sitting and walking her dogs, when those two vicious dogs escaped and attacked her where she fell down, breaking her leg and having her one arm mauled to pieces while she defended herself. Another neighbor just happened to be driving by, witnessed the entire incident, stopped the attack and the dogs retreated.

Fast foward...complaints were filed, petitions were signed by neighbors who had corrabative stories, the police were called, the family tried to sue.....to no avail. The idiot is an attorney and lied through his teeth about the whole ordeal to the judge...they ended up with nothing but a lot of wasted effort and time. I cannot begin to describe the stress it caused them all.

So, stick with small claims court...but I warn you, this can start a war with people this irresponsible and unreasonable. I would be very worried of them poisoning my dog or some other type of retaliation.

My parents sued a shop owner several years ago. It was a very cold day & they brought the guard dogs inside to keep them warm. My little brother went up to pet one of the dogs (the female), and the male jumped up and bit his face.
It still upsets my parents a lot, so I can't call and ask them what they did....sorry. But call the County Courthouse and ask someone in small claims dept what your steps need to be.

I agree with J.C. Trying giving them the vet bill. They may be responsible pet owners and pay the bill. However, don't stiff your vet. Make sure you pay them even if your neighbor does not.

Good luck!

My daughter sued a car dealership for failing to return her deposit on a vehicle we would not let her buy. She was only 17 and it was a huge SUV gas guzzler. She wasn't old enough to enter a contract and make it binding. The judge told them they knew better and awarded her the money plus court costs. ONLY, she's never seen a dime. She spent even more money trying to serve them and having a sherrif search their place of business for money. But they know better than to keep cash lying around. They've probably been sued a lot. We are told we can only garnish their checking account if we get the account #. How do you get someone elses account #?

You may have to do small claims court. Did you file a police report?

You could take them to small claims court, I think you just walk into the court house and file papers. You don't need an attorney for small claims. But, even if you win, the court does not enforce payment. You may never see a dime.

We sued my brother in law. He refused to pay my husband the last instalment in a real estate deal. Luckily he agreed to pay and we never had to go to court. Good luck. Shame on your neighbors for not taking care of their responsibilities.

Go to the website for your county and find how to file pro se (by yourself without an attorney) and what the filing fee is and the jurisdictional limit for small claims or municipal court (some areas it is as low as $5,000 like in PA where my parents are and others like here by Chicago it is $25,000 for small claims). IF the filing fee is almost the cost of your vet bills, you need to decide what you want to do -- file for the the fact that it is the RIGHT THING for them to have to pay or not file at all. Although I am an attorney, I am NOT licensed to practice in Minnesota and do not practice there. But you should NOT need an attorney to bring this kind of suit. I am SURE you can find a sample petition on-line regarding dog bite/vet bill small claims case if you google it. If not, let me know and I will see if I can help you find one to use as an example. Sometimes your municipal or county court will even have neat little forms to fill out where you don't have to file a petition but more fill in the blank forms. Keep copies of all your original bills associated with the dog bite treatment as you will need to file the copies with the court at some point to support damages.

Best of Luck!

oh heck yes I'd go after them too!! I hate it when people do not take responsibility for their animals.
I would start with filing a police report. Maybe they can give you some information as to how you can go about this.
Sorry to hear about your dog, poor thing. ;(