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2005 Animal L. Comm. Newsl. 1 (2005)

handle is hein.journals/anilawcn2005 and id is 1 raw text is: Spring 2005 Animal Law Commit HIS All Bark and No Bite: 1sT Getting the Most Out of Your Animal Law Judgments By: Adam Karp Homeowner's insurance ensures payment of most dogbite claims involving negligent control or strict liability. But insurance will not pay for some of the starkest examples of men's and women's cruelty to nonhuman animals, which are often pled as intention- al torts like fraud and conversion. As might be expected, the likelihood of financial recovery from those who commit such acts is inversely related to the vileness of the misdeed. The need for aggressive post-judgment collections is a foregone conclusion, and the risk of bankruptcy threatening to upend the underlying judgment an ever present threat. Below are some considerations for the animal law practi- tioner desirous of getting clients paid. Who is the Owner? Determining the proper defendants will naturally define against whom you may satisfy the anticipated judgment. State law varies, but often any person or business entity with care, custody, or control of the tort-causing nonhuman animal will be liable. This includes licensed or registered owners, as well as harborers, keepers, and those with temporary posses- sion-such as walkers, veterinarians, pet sitters, trainers, roommates, and the occasional landlord. If your courts have not defined or distinguished owners from keepers, look to the statutes addressing cruelty to animals, dogbites, and dangerous dogs, all of which should have a definition section. Bankruptcy and Animal Law Judgments. Most judgment debtors seek refuge in Chapter 7 in order to shake off judgment creditors whose underlying claims sound in negligence, such as a garden variety motor vehicle accident, or breach of Continued on page 5

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