My old roommate on the day I was moving out closed my cat in the garage door. My cat went unnoticed in the garage door by said roommate and was rescued by a neighbor. Long story short my cat had to have his back leg and tail amputated. This ran up almost $1600 in vet bills. Can I sue for these vet bills in small claims court in the state of Ohio. I am hearing that the cat will be assessed as property and will be give a cap on his worth. I understand it is not a human but I could not put the cat down and now would like to re coop some of my cost. Due to another court battle I have a signed official document from the court in a different county then I will be suing in where he admits to causing the damage to the cat but says it was not due to his negligence.
2006-09-18 18:19:04 · 9 answers · asked by Rob H 1 in Politics & Government ➔ Law & Ethics
Long story short, you had a duty to protect your cat from harm by taking reasonable precautions during your move. You could have put him/her in a carrier, took him/her to a friends house, etc ...
You didn't.
Your ex-roommate should have looked to make sure nothing was in the range of the garage door before closing it.
They didn't.
File in small claims court, but honestly ... don't expect to be awarded more than half of the cost of the medical bills.
2006-09-20 06:22:39 · answer #1 · answered by BoomChikkaBoom 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You can file an action for trespass to chattels. You're right in saying the court will put a cap on the damages based on the actual value of your pet. I'm not sure about the limits in Ohio, but you may do better to sue in small claims court. The rules are generally more lax and you may persuade a judge to award you more money. As far as the statement he signed, it should be admissible for your case. His admittal will hurt him, but you will still have to prove your roomie acted negligently.
2006-09-18 18:27:33 · answer #2 · answered by bestguessing 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
>> Due to another court battle I have a signed official document from the court in a different county then I will be suing in where he admits to causing the damage to the cat but says it was not due to his negligence. <<
What does that mean?
2006-09-19 04:21:21 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
A Claim for damages under the Civil Law can be filed in the nearest court near your residence. You just have to prove that actual damages incurred and prove it with receipts. You can even claim for moral and exemplary damages that were directly suffered by you since your cat was amputated.
2006-09-18 18:24:20 · answer #4 · answered by FRAGINAL, JTM 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
You can sue anyone for ANYTHING now adays.
The only question is, will you actually win?
Did your old roommate know the cat was there? Was it intentional? In any state, when you sue some one, you are assessed with what's called Burden of Proof--it's your burden to prove that he is responsible.
Good luck!
2006-09-18 18:40:32 · answer #5 · answered by Bachman-ette 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I heard he grew to become into suing a track college =/ haha Who is conscious! I used to think of he have been given somebody to write down it, yet after the the tooth ferry and automobile ferry spelling mistake i'm commencing to think of in any different case :D I propose why would a author mistake ferry for fairy? And a translator would word a mistake like that, suitable? i assume we will on no account be responsive to... till he posts a photograph of himself writing it ;D
2016-10-01 03:22:43 · answer #6 · answered by boland 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes..,it would have to be small claims court and if you have enough effidence you dont need a lawyer..,go to handel[Bill Handel] on the law and look up legalzoom and it will tell you all the documents you need to make your case.good luck
2006-09-18 18:26:36 · answer #7 · answered by halfbright 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Sounds like he needs to be charged with cruelty to animals... contact animal services... if found guilty then sue & go after the money!!
2006-09-18 18:29:57 · answer #8 · answered by Jennifer M 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes! It's seams like his aware of what he did.
It is not what the bad guys that do that makes our society bad,
but it's the good guys who's not doing anything about it. So go for it and good luck.
2006-09-18 20:27:22 · answer #9 · answered by spacetrooper50 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋