01-08-08 wfp tiger liability

8/8/2019 01-08-08 Wfp Tiger Liability

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WHEN WILD ANIMALS ATTACK

Houston Defense Attorney John Floyd discusses Potential Texas Tort

Liability for Zoo Attacks. What if it happened in Texas?

THE ATTACK

It was last Christmas evening. Most of the visitors at the San Francisco Zoohad given way to the approaching chill of evening and left for a dinner mealwith family and friends. Rather than spending the evening with his family asthey wanted, 17-year-old Carlos Sousa joined two brothers, 23-year-oldKulbir Dhaliwal and 19-year-old Paul Dhaliwal, for a trip to the zoo.

What the young men did at the zoo is not clear. Initial news media reportscited a zoo visitor as saying she saw one or more of the young men tauntingthe caged animals. An ensuing investigation by the San Francisco PoliceDepartment, however, produced no evidence of taunting. Zoo officials havemaintained from the outset that there had to be some provocation to promptthe 350-pound Siberian tiger named Titiana to escape from her grottoenclosure (jumping a 20-foot moat and scaling a 13-foot wall), stalk theyoung men, and attack all three. Sousa was killed in the attack and the twoDhaliwal brothers were severely mauled.

The immediate question following the tiger attack for San Francisco city andzoo officials was the issue of liability. Built in the 1930s, the zoo wasoperated by the city until 1993 when its day-to-day control was turned overto a nonprofit organization called the San Francisco Zoological Society.While this organization has been responsible for raising funds to keep thezoo operating, the city has still served as its landlord by contributing $7.5million last year alone in taxpayer dollars to the zoos operations andupkeep.

While this public-private agreement specifies that the San FranciscoZoological Society is responsible for any loss of life or injury at the zoo,City Supervisor Gerardo Sandoval informed the media shortly after theattack that the city could be liable for millions of dollars in damages for thislatest attack by Titiana. Zoo keeper Lori Komejan lost an arm in an attack byTitiana last year during a feeding session. She has already sued the city for


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and ten other unnamed defendants for negligence in connection with thatattack.

It is understandable that Sandoval, an attorney, would immediatelyrecognize the citys liability.

"Whether the attack was provoked or unprovoked, there is no excuse for an

animal getting out of its enclosure, and the law is pretty clear that in this

situation the city will be held responsible," he told the media after the attack.

GENERAL TORT LAW PRINCIPLES

There is always strict liability for the owner or keeper when a wild animalattack. The owner or keeper of a wild animal is strictly liable for any harm

the animal causes regardless of whether:

The owner/keeper was aware of the animal dangerousness. The owner/keep had the animal well-trained. The owner/keeper took care to prevent harm by the animal.

Depending upon California tort law is, the city of San Francisco and the SanFrancisco Zoological Society will probably face strict liability for theChristmas tiger attack.

In addition to this tort liability, the San Francisco Zoological Society willprobably face strict liability for maintaining what is known in commonlaw as abnormally dangerous conditions or activities. First, the tigersenclosure had walls that were about 4 feet lower than those recommended bythe Association of Zoos and Aquariums. Second, Titiana had a history ofattacking people. Zoo visitors have an absolute right to be free from harmcaused by abnormally dangerous conditions or activities at the publicfacility. The elements for this particular tort are:

Existence of an abnormally dangerous condition or activity. Knowledge of the condition or activity.

Damages.

Causation.


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The following are some defenses to a strict liability tort for abnormallydangerous conditions or activities as set out by William P. Statsky in hisTorts Personal Injury Litigation (4th Ed. 2001):

1. The condition or activity was not abnormally dangerous.2. The condition or activity was usual or natural for the environment in

question.3. The likelihood of serious harm from the condition or activity was

small.4. The danger in the condition or activity could have been eliminated by

the use of reasonable care.5. The value of the condition or activity to the community outweighed

any possible danger.6. A statute required or authorized the condition or activity.

7. Defendant was not aware of the condition or activity.8. Defendant was not the cause in fact of the harm suffered by plaintiff.9. The kind of harm that resulted was not foreseeable.10.The person injured was not a foreseeable plaintiff.11.The plaintiff was aware of the danger, understood it, and unreasonably

assumed the risk.12.Plaintiff consented to what the defendant did.13. Plaintiffs suit against the city for strict liability for abnormally

conditions or activities committee by city employee may be barred bysovereign immunity.

14.Plaintiffs suit against the city employee for strict liability forabnormally dangerous conditions or activities may be barred by publicofficial immunity.

15.Plaintiffs suit against a charitable organization for strict liability forabnormally dangerous conditions or activities may be barredcharitable immunity.

16.Plaintiff failed to take reasonable steps to mitigate the harm causedwhen the defendant committed strict liability for abnormallydangerous conditions or activities; therefore, damages should not

cover the aggravation of harm caused by the plaintiff under thedoctrine of avoidable consequences.

Under this kind of tort, a plaintiff can recover compensatory damages for theharm caused by the defendants dangerous condition or activity. He canrecover punitive damages only if he can show that the defendant wasmalicious or reckless in allowing the harm to occur.


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Even if zoo officials were successful in defending against a strict liability forabnormally dangerous conditions or activities, the victims of Titianas attackcould prevail on a tort of negligence by showing that their loss and/orinjuries were caused by the unreasonable conduct of zoo officials. Theelements of this tort are:

Duty (an obligation to use reasonable care to avoid risks of injuringthe person or property of others).

Breach of duty (foreseeability of an accident causing serious injuryoutweighed the burden or inconvenience on the defendant to take

precautions against the injury and defendant failed to take thoseprecautions).

Proximate cause (defendant is the cause in fact of the injury, the

injury was the foreseeable consequence of the original risk, and thereis no policy reason why defendant should not be liable for what hecaused in fact).

Damages (actual harm or loss)

The San Francisco Zoological Society and probably the city of SanFrancisco as well had a duty to take reasonable care to make sure thatTitianas enclosure protected the visiting public from harm or injury. Thefact that the enclosures protective wall was four feet below national

standards establishes foreseeability - and bringing that deficient wall intocompliance with national standards did not create either a burden orinconvenience sufficient to outweigh zoo officials duty to protect thevisiting public. With those two elements established, the remaining twoelements (zoo officials were the cause of the death/injuries that occurred andthere was actual harm and loss of life) will be easy to establish.

As City Supervisor Sandoval said, there will be enough liability to goaround in the San Francisco attack.

TEXAS LAW

What would happen if such an attack occurred in a Houston zoo?

A civil lawsuit for an animal attack in a zoo in the city of Houston must bebrought under the Texas Tort Claims Act (Act). See: Tex. Civil Prac. &Rem. Code Ann. 101.001 109 (Vernon 1997 & Supp. 1998). See also:


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City of Houston v. Morua, 982 S.W.2d 126 (Tex.App.-Houston [1st Dist.]1998). In Morua a three-year old child visited the Houston ZoologicalGardens with his family on March 31, 1996. The family was viewing aMexican wolf exhibit. The child somehow went over or through a woodenfence and placed his hand into the exhibit through a chain-link fence. A wolf

bit off one of his fingers and portions of two others. Id. at 127. The childsparents sued the City of Houston based on strict liability, negligence, grossnegligence, and attractive nuisance. Id.

The City attempted to have the lawsuit dismissed for lack of subject matterjurisdiction. The trial court denied the citys motion to dismiss, and the trialcourts ruling was upheld on appeal. Id. The appeals court discussed theissue of subject matter jurisdiction under the Texas Tort Claims Act asfollows:

the City contends that the trial court erred in denying its motion todismiss because the Moruas have failed to plead a cause of action within thewaiver of governmental immunity created by the Act. SeeTEX. CIV.PRAC. & REM. CODE ANN. 101.001-.109 (Vernon 1997 & Supp.1998). To explain the context of this dispute, we begin with an overview ofthe relevant statutes.

Under the common law, a municipality is immune from liability only for itsgovernmental conduct, not its proprietary conduct

.See Simons v. City of

Austin, 921 S.W.2d 524, 529 (Tex. App.--Austin 1996, writ denied). Thelegislature has statutorily defined almost every function of a municipality,including the operation of azoo, as governmental, thus shrouding it withimmunity from liability. TEX. CIV. PRAC. & REM. CODE ANN. 101.0215(13) (Vernon Supp. 1998). However, under the Act, agovernmental unit waives its immunity for governmental functions to theextent it would be liable for personal injuries caused by a condition or use oftangible personal or real property if it were a private person. TEX. CIV.PRAC. & REM. CODE ANN. 101.021(2) (Vernon 1997). Subchapter C of

the Act sets forth several exceptions to the waiver of immunity found insection 101.021. TEX. CIV. PRAC. & REM. CODE ANN. 101.051-.065(Vernon 1997 & Supp. 1998).

Chapter 75 of the Civil Practices and Remedies Code, commonly known asthe recreational use statute, provides for limited liability to land owners who

permit others to use their property for recreational purposes. TEX. CIV.
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PRAC. & REM. CODE ANN. 75.001- .004 (Vernon 1997 & Supp.1998). The statute specifies the standard of care, lower than that found atcommon law, owed by a landowner to those he allows on his property forrecreational purposes. TEX. CIV. PRAC. & REM. CODE ANN. 75.002(b)(Vernon 1997 & Supp. 1998) (stating that landowner must meet standard ofcare owed to a trespasser). Id., at 128.

In 1995 the Texas Legislature amended both the Act and the recreational usestatute. Act of May 26, 1995, 74th Leg., R.S., ch. 520, 1995 Tex. Gen. Laws3276, 3276-77 (amending Tex. Civil Prac. & Rem. Code Ann. 75.003 &101.0528). Based on these amendments, the City of Houston argued thatMoruas claims were controlled by the recreational use statute because, asamended, the statute does not waive sovereign immunity under 75.003(f).The Mouras, on the other hand, argued that the amended 75.003(f) did not

abolish the waiver of immunity found in 101.021(2) but, rather, limitedgovernmental liability under 101.021(2). Id., at 129. The appeals courtresolved this legal dispute as follows:

The express wording of both section 101.058 of the Act and section75.003(g) of the recreational use statute undermine the City's argument. SeeTEX. CIV. PRAC. & REM. CODE ANN. 75.003(g), 101.058 (Vernon1997). Both sections clearly state that, to the extent the recreational usestatute limits the liability of a governmental unit under circumstances inwhich the governmental unit would be liable under the Act, the recreationaluse statute, and its diminished standard of care, controls. See id. A plainreading of both sections reveals that, once it is determined that agovernmental entity is liable under the Act, the recreational use statute maythen operate to limit, not abolish, that liability if the facts of a particular casesupport its application. See id. According to the City, the legislature intendedto abolish governmental unit landowner liability through the addition ofsection 75.003(f), which states that This chapter does not waive sovereignimmunity. TEX. CIV. PRAC. & REM. CODE ANN. 75.003(f). However,

based on the plain meaning ofsections 75.003(g) and 101.058 outlined

above, an analysis of a governmental unit landowner's liability does notreach the recreational use statute unless it is first determined that thelitigant's claims fall under the waiver of immunity created by the Act. SeeTEX. CIV. PRAC. & REM. CODE ANN. 75.003(g), 101.058. Therefore,section 75.003(f) merely emphasizes that the recreational use statute limits

preexistingliability, and does not, in and of itself, waive sovereign immunityor abolish the waiver of liability found in the Act. SeeTEX. CIV. PRAC. &
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REM. CODE ANN. 75.003(f). It would be nonsensical to assume that thelegislature, by adding two separate provisions stating that the recreationaluse statute limits the liability of a governmental unit landowner, intended toabolish the waiver of governmental immunity created by section 101.021(2)of the Act.SeeTEX. CIV. PRAC. & REM. CODE ANN. 75.003(g),101.058. We hold that the recreational use statute does not bar the Moruas'claims made pursuant to section 101.021(2) of the Act, and that the trialcourt did not err in denying the City's motion to dismiss for lack of subjectmatter jurisdiction. Id., at 130 [Emphasis original].

In effect, the Texas Tort Claims Act waives its sovereign immunity for,among other things, personal injury and death caused by a condition or useof tangible personal or real property if the government unit would, were it a

private person, be liable to a plaintiff according to Texas law. See:

101.021(2).

Texas law provides that a premises owner may be liable for two types ofnegligence by failing to keep his/her premises safe: (1) that arising from a

premises defect, and (2) that arising from an activity on the premises. See:Clayton W. Williams, Jr., Inc. v. Olivo, 952 S.W.2d 523, 527 (Tex. 1997).

It must be stressed that premises defect and negligent activity areindependent theories of recovery. Id., at 529. See also: City of Houston v.Harris, 192 S.W.3d 167, 177 (Tex.App.-Houston [14th Dist.) 2006).

Under Texas law, recovery based on a negligent activity theory requires thatthe injury be a contemporaneous result of the activity itself rather than bya condition created by the activity. Id. See also: Timberwalk ApartmentPartners, Inc. v. Cain, 972 S.W.2d 749, 753 (Tex. 1998).

With respect to an injury resulting from a condition of the premises,including property on the premises, rather than conduct that occurred at thetime of the injury, a plaintiff has only a premise defect cause of action. See:

Olivo, supra, 952 S.W.2d at 527; Tex. Dept of Parks and Wildlife v.Miranda, 133 S.W.3d 217, 229-30 (Tex. 2004).

Finally, the appeals court in Harris held that the Tort Claims Act'sscheme of a limited waiver of immunity from suit does not allow plaintiffsto circumvent the heightened standards of a premises defect claim containedin section 101.022 by re-casting the same acts as a claim relating to the
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negligent condition or use of tangible property. See State v. Tennison, 509S.W.2d 560, 562, 17 Tex. Sup. Ct. J. 291 (Tex. 1974) (rejecting theargument that the Tort Claims Act creates two entirely separate grounds ofliability for negligent use or condition of real property and premise defect,

but instead interpreting the premises defect provision to further limit thewaiver of immunity for negligent use or condition of real property). OtherTexas courts have recognized that to allow plaintiffs to characterize

premises defect claims as claims caused by the negligent condition or use ofpersonal or real property would render the Legislature's heightenedrequirements for premises defect claims meaningless. Harris, supra, 192S.W.3d at 174.

CONCLUSION

Based on the foregoing analysis of Texas law, a victim of a tiger attack in aHouston zoo could present a claim under the Texas Tort Claims Act seekingdamages based on a premises defect theory. The tigers enclosure is a

permanent fixture of the zoos real property. It conditions would bedefective if they failed to meet national zoological standards, e.g., protectivewall being lower than recommended standard. Without more facts, it would

be difficult to state that a per se negligence claim could be made underTexas law based on the San Francisco zoo facts because the injury and deathmust be the contemporaneous result of a negligent activity. No one at this

juncture can state with certainty that negligence was involved in the SanFrancisco attack. But clearly there was a premises defect at the SanFrancisco zoo giving rise to such a claim under Texas law.

SOURCE: General tort law information found in Statskys Torts PersonalInjury Litigation (4th Ed. 2001).
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01-08-08 wfp tiger liability

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