If employees at PetSmart (or better yet, the dog's owner) had been as vigilant about scooping up some errant poop as this dog is, there would have been no lawsuit.Here are some magic words that may help you settle a $1 million lawsuit one day: “The dog feces in question was not open and obvious.”
Remember those words, and you could be set for life.
The Virginian-Pilot reports that PetSmart has settled a $1 million negligence lawsuit brought by Robert W. Holloway, the man who uttered those immortal words. He claimed that in January 2009 he was heading for the treats aisle in a Virginia PetSmart when he slipped on a hiding pile of dog poop, badly injuring his already not-perfect back. The suit also alleged that he struck his head and knocked out four teeth (never mind that they were false teeth).
That was some powerful poop!
I wrote a Dogster post about the case last year when he filed suit. I marveled at the formal talk about how PetSmart and its employees “negligently allowed animals to enter the premises and deposit feces in such a manner as to create a dangerous and hazardous condition.” Oh those wicked animals who deposit their feces and create all kinds of dangers and hazards!
I predicted that Holloway’s suit would go the same way a suit brought by a woman who slipped in dog urine in the same store did: Nowhere. I figured he’d end up with only a toothless smile and a dirty shoe to show for his efforts. I didn’t think that he’d end up with his wallet loaded.
Dogsters, what do you think of the suit, and the outcome?
I deal with frivilous complaints and lawsuits daily. There is no limit that people will not go to just to get something for nothing. No sense of personal responsibility. I get customer claims across my desk such as the toilet paper dispenser cover hitting someone on the head. (Yeah, figure that one out.) Someone left the restaurant and as he walked around a parked car he tripped over the cement stop and now wants us to pay for his medical bills. Discrimination suit because we wouldn’t let someone use our outside bathroom at midnight. Never mind there isn’t an outside bathroom at that location. It’s stuff like this that makes me so jaded and fed up with Joe Public in general. I’m sorry that man got a settlement of any type. Use common sense and take responsibility for your actions!
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