Opinion
Nos. 44661, 44662.
November 8, 1974.
Animals — injury inflicted by a cat — proof required to recover damages.
Two actions in the Murray County District Court, one by Donald Lupkes, as parent and natural guardian of Bonnie Lupkes, a minor, to recover for injuries allegedly sustained by said minor when she was scratched by a cat belonging to defendant; the other by Donald Lupkes to recover medical expense incurred by him for said minor. The cases were consolidated for trial before Walter H. Mann, Judge, and a jury, which returned a verdict of $12,000 in the first case and a verdict of $5,000 in the second. In each case defendant appealed from the judgment entered. Affirmed.
Berens, Rodenberg O'Connor and R. T. Rodenberg, for appellant.
William C. Taylor, for respondent.
Heard before Sheran, C.J., and Kelly and MacLaughlin, JJ., and considered and decided by the court en banc.
Defendant appeals from judgments entered pursuant to jury verdicts in favor of plaintiffs. Plaintiff Bonnie Lupkes, a minor, was injured by a cat owned and kept by defendant. The sole issue presented is whether the evidence taken as a whole and viewed in a light most favorable to plaintiffs sustains the jury verdicts.
The trial court, following the standards of Clark v. Brings, 284 Minn. 73, 169 N.W.2d 407 (1969), and Judd v. Zupon, 297 Minn. 38, 209 N.W.2d 423 (1973), correctly instructed the jury that plaintiffs could not recover unless the evidence established by a fair preponderance that defendant's cat was of a vicious nature and defendant knew or in the exercise of reasonable care should have known that the cat was vicious.
We have carefully considered the evidence and conclude that, taken as a whole and viewed in the light most favorable to plaintiffs, the evidence sustains the jury's findings.
Affirmed.