Category Archives: Personal Injury

This was originally published on the SGR Blog.

Court Decides if Viable Claim is Asserted

Maria Grajeda sued Karin Hablo, as administrator of the estate of David B. Sulyma, after an incident involving a dog attack on September 20, 2014 in front of the Grajedas’ home in Chester, New York.

On September 20, 2014, at approximately 3:00 p.m., Maria Grajeda was on her front porch with her two dogs, Charlie and Sandy. David B. Sulyma lived next door with his two golden retrievers. Sulyma’s two golden retrievers approached Grajeda’s porch and started barking at her dogs. Sandy ran to the door of Grajeda’s home, and was let inside. As Sandy was let inside, Charlie was attacked by Sulyma’s dogs. Grajeda grabbed one of the dogs by the collar and attempted to separate them, but the attacks continued. As Grajeda attempted to grab Charlie, one of Sulyma’s dogs put his paws on her shoulder, causing her to fall to the ground on her right side. She continued her attempts to get Charlie, but the dogs “were pulling [her] and pulling Charlie” toward Sulyma’s property. She fell “a couple times” as she attempted to intervene in the attack.

This was originally posted on the SGR Blog.

Did One Owner Have Claim against the Others?

On August 24, 2017, Irma Sanchez brought her dog, Patron, for a playdate with Michael and Marsha’s dog, Gizmo, at the Birds’ residence. Sanchez alleged that Gizmo ran up to her and knocked her down during the playdate. And alleged that the Birds knew of Gizmo’s propensity to knock people down. On July 11, 2018, Sanchez sued the Birds for damages for the alleged injuries she sustained when Gizmo knocked her down.

The Birds moved for summary judgment dismissing the Sanchez complaint. And alleged that Gizmo did not have any vicious propensities. In support of their motion, they contended that their dog knocked Sanchez down to the ground as a result of playing with Patron in the yard. According to the Birds, they could not be liable for Gizmo’s normal dog behavior. They also alleged that Gizmo did not have any vicious propensities as evidenced by both Sanchez’ and Michael Bird’s examinations before trial. They testified that neither of them had seen or were aware of Gizmo biting, growling, or showing his teeth toward anyone. The Birds highlighted the fact that Sanchez testified that when their dogs played with each other, they did so in a playful manner and Gizmo did not act aggressively toward Patron. And the dogs had playdates frequently, at least one to two times per week prior to the incident.