I saw the pitiful stray cats in the community and occasionally fed them out of pity. Unexpectedly, the kitten made a big mistake and even scratched the neighbor. Neighbors took the feeder and the property to court. Recently, the Luoyang Old Town People's Court heard the tort liability dispute case. Will the court support the neighbor's lawsuit against the feeder and the property owner for compensation?
His calf was scratched by a stray cat in the community.
Cost 1,829.5 yuan for treatment.
Ms. Liu and Ms. Zhang are neighbors living in the same building in a community in the old city of Luoyang City. A certain property is the property management company of the community. Stray cats are often found in this community, and Ms. Zhang and other community residents occasionally feed stray cats.
In June 2021, the plaintiff, Ms. Liu, was scratched on her left calf by a stray cat in the building of the community. On the same day, Ms. Liu went to the hospital for treatment, spending a total of 1,829.5 yuan in medical expenses.
Because her claim for compensation was unsuccessful, Ms. Liu sued Ms. Zhang, who often fed stray cats, and the property management company to the Old City Court, demanding payment of medical expenses, transportation expenses, printing fees, CD production fees, case acceptance fees and other expenses.
Ms. Liu claimed that Ms. Zhang often fed stray cats, which caused the gathering of stray cats in the community, and she should be held responsible. The property management company did not clean up stray cats in the community in a timely manner, resulting in incidents of stray cats injuring people, and it should also be held responsible.
Ms. Zhang said that she only occasionally feeds individual stray cats, and does not have a relationship with the stray cats in raising or managing them, nor does she have a direct relationship with the gathering of stray cats in the community.
The property management stated that it had posted the "Pet Management Regulations" in the community, advised and reminded owners, and controlled stray pets.
The property company compensated 1,929.5 yuan.
The feeder is not responsible.
The court ruled that the defendant, a property company, should compensate the plaintiff, Ms. Liu, for a total of 1,929.5 yuan in various losses, and rejected the other claims of the plaintiff, Ms. Liu.
If the raised animals cause damage to others, the animal breeder or manager shall bear tort liability. The animal keeper refers to the owner of the animal, that is, the person who enjoys the right to possess, use, benefit from, and dispose of the animal; the animal manager refers to the person who actually controls and disciplines the animal.
This case is a tort dispute caused by animals in a community causing harm to people. The core issue lies in the identification of the responsible party, and the prerequisite for the identification of the responsible party is to determine the owner or manager of the animal.
Regarding Ms. Liu’s claim that the defendant Ms. Zhang is the breeder and manager of the stray cats involved in the case and should be liable for compensation, the defendant Ms. Zhang denied it and the evidence provided by Ms. Liu was insufficient to prove the claim. The fact that the defendant Ms. Zhang fed the stray cats involved in the case did not mean that she had the right to possess or control the stray cats involved in the case, nor did it constitute breeding or management in the legal sense. Therefore, the lawsuit was requested by the Old City Court and was not supported in accordance with the law.
As the property manager of Ms. Liu’s community, the property management company should fulfill its management and safety obligations for the community. There are stray cats in the community involved. Because the animals have immeasurable behavior, that is, they pose dangers to the lives, health, and property of others, it should be determined that the property management company has the necessary obligations to control stray animals in the community.
Ms. Liu was scratched by a stray cat in the community. As the manager, the property manager only posted the "Pet Management Regulations" in the community. This cannot prove that it has fulfilled its obligation to control stray animals in the community and should bear corresponding liability for compensation according to law.