DeRobertis v. Randazzo
New Jersey Supreme Court
462 A.2d 1260 (1983)
- Written by Rich Walter, JD
Facts
Vito DeRobertis (plaintiff) occasionally performed contract work at a car-repair garage owned by Joseph Randazzo, Jr. (defendant). Vito’s five-year-old son, Peter DeRobertis (plaintiff), often accompanied his father on these occasions. Whenever Peter visited the garage, Randazzo let the boy roam the premises and pet Randazzo’s German Shepherd dog. One day, the dog bit and severely wounded Peter, whose resulting medical treatment cost $2,516. On Peter’s behalf, Vito sued Randazzo to recoup that sum. The trial court’s jury instructions confused statutory and common-law liability principles applicable to an owner’s liability for injuries inflicted by the owner’s dog and wrongly dismissed the relevance of whether Peter was lawfully on Randazzo’s premises at the time of the attack. The jury awarded Peter and Vito $40,000 in damages, which the trial court remitted to $25,000. An intermediate appellate court affirmed the trial court’s judgment but restored the damages award to $40,000. Randazzo appealed to the New Jersey Supreme Court.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Pollock, J.)
Dissent (O’Hern, J.)
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