PERSONAL INJURY: Supreme Court holds that landlord may be liable for injury caused by tenant’s dog

In its September 18, 2012 ruling in PATRICIA GIACALONE v. HOUSING AUTHORITY OF THE TOWN OF WALLINGFORD (SC 18669), the Connecticut Supreme Court has now held that a landlord may be held liable, under a common-law theory of premises liability, for injuries sustained by a tenant after being bitten by a dog owned by a fellow tenant and kept on premises owned by the common landlord, when the landlord knew of the dog’s dangerous propensities, but did not have direct care of, or control over, the dog.

The decision clarifies an ambiguity in the law, and makes clear now that landlords must strictly monitor and be adequately insured with regard to tenants’ dogs, if allowed at all.

To view the ruling in its entirety see: http://www.jud.ct.gov/external/supapp/Cases/AROcr/CR306/306CR85.pdf