After failing to put measures in place to prevent a “foreseeable” pit bull mauling of her neighbour’s daughter, a woman’s Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) bid failed.
Pit bull owner Susanna Swanepoel had two pit bulls in the back garden of her property which had been rearing a litter of puppies when the incident occurred.
The girl’s father, Mark Reynecke, had successfully sued Swanepoel for medical expenses and general damages his daughter sustained as a result of the attack “primarily on the basis that the dog attack was foreseeable”.
The court also noted that during the trial, Swanepoel did not give evidence of the steps she took to prevent the attack.
“Foreseeability is ordinarily established by reference to whether the animal in question has a history of, or predisposition to, aggression. Where no such history or predisposition is established, it will generally be difficult to conclude that the owner of the animal could have foreseen the attack,” court documents read.
Judge Stuart Wilson, in his judgment said, not only was the foreseeability of the attack effectively conceded in Swanepoel’s plea, it was plainly established on the evidence.
“Foreseeability having been conceded on the pleadings and established in the evidence, Swanepoel led no evidence whatsoever of the measures she alleged were taken to prevent the attack. Swanepoel’s failure to testify caused the court below to draw an inference against her. That inference was that no such preventative measures were taken.
“Relying in part on that conclusion, the court below found that Swanepoel had wrongfully and negligently failed to prevent the injuries that (the girl) sustained ... In my view, the court below was entirely correct in its approach.”
According to Swanepoel’s pleadings, she had alleged to have warned the girl “as she warns all visitors that the female dog had puppies and may be more protective than usual”.
Judge Wilson said that the warnings Swanepoel had given were an admission that the dog was potentially dangerous and that it was liable to attack those who approached it while it was rearing its puppies and foreseeability was accordingly conceded.
Cape Times