Are Leash Laws Strict Liability Statutes?
This is a classic dog bite case that turns on whether there is strict liability for violating a leash law. Plaintiff, then thirteen years old, was walking home through the alley behind Defendant’s home in the City of St. Louis. Plaintiff saw Defendant’s son come out of the back yard into the alley through a gate in the chain link fence. Defendant’s dog, Neno, a mixed breed of German Shepherd and Rotweiller, came through the gate shortly thereafter. When Plaintiff was five or six feet away from the gate, the dog jumped up and bit her on the arm. It is undisputed that Defendant was the owner of the dog at the time of the incident and that the dog was not on a leash. Plaintiff sued, alleging negligence per se. The court gave plaintiff a negligence per se instruction, but also allowed defendant a defense instruction on justification: Your verdict must be for plaintiff, Melissa Egenreither, and against defendant, Sandra Carter, if you believe: First, that Sandra Carter owned the dog in ques
