City Attorney Gives Two Minute Closing Argument - Backfires as Jury Awards $3.7M

Mike Ferrara

Attorney
(866) 735-1102 Ext 650

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A Florida jury awarded a 38 year old Florida woman $3.7 million dollars for horrendous injuries suffered after being bitten by two Rottwellers. The jury found the City of Delray Beach 60% at fault and the dog owner 40% at fault. The evidence showed that city officials were on notice, from prior incidents, that the dogs were dangerous and did nothing about it. The City Attorney in a two minute closing argument said they acknowledge it was horrible attack but the city officials were not responsible. The jury disagreed with her assessment. The jury said they felt the animal control officers could have prevented the attack. There was a city ordinance that said any loose dog should be impounded and these dogs were found loose on prior occassions. One of the jurors said

"It's very difficult to put a price tag on what happened to her. It was basically a consensus among all of us that it seemed like a very fair settlement for what she had been through for the last four years and what she went through in the actual attack. I mean, those dogs basically tried to eat the lady, and then we tried to figure out what she was going to face the rest of her life."