Court of Appeals Reverses $130,000 Weiner Dog Attack Verdict
In a glorious victory for wiener dogs everywhere, on Tuesday a unanimous Mississippi Court of Appeals reversed and rendered a $130,000 Clay County jury verdict for the victim of a near-miss wiener dog attack. Here is the Court's decision in Penny Pinchers v. Outlaw. I'm serious. That's the name of the case.
Facts:
Sophie was a 4 month old wiener dog. 
I obtained an exclusive photo of a representative 4-month old wiener dog puppy, pictured to the right. Might as well of named her Killer.
Sophie's owner took her to work with her at Penny Pinchers. The rest is history. Outlaw—being afraid of dogs—ran for the back of the store upon entering and hearing Sophie bark. Outlaw could hear Sophie's claws on the floor and, I presume, her jaws snapping.
When Outlaw saw it was little Sophie, she laughed and resumed shopping. Large quantities of catfish and sugar were on her list. But Outlaw was soon hysterical with pain in her bum hip. An ambulance was dispatched. The lawsuit followed.
Trial:
A Clay County jury apportioned 70% of fault to Penny Pinchers and 30% to Outlaw and awarded $130,000 in damages.
The Appeal:
The Court of Appeals reversed and rendered based on the finding that there was no dangerous condition.
Judge Kenny Griffis wrote the pack's majority's opinion. Wayne Williams of Tupelo represented the defendant. Rod Richmond and Chynee Bailey represented the Plaintiff.
My Take:
This will go down in history as a landmark verdict….for wiener dogs. There are some real troublemakers in the wiener dog breed. The Court's opinion gives them a license to chase customers around stores throughout Mississippi with impunity. But in a state where most of the population is armed, this could still end badly for the wiener dogs.
Perhaps your best work, Phillip. Best in show. (Okay, that was bad.)
People who are afraid of dogs need to develop agoraphobia and stay home.
I don't know anything about Judge Lee Howard, but how he denied a JNOV is beyond me.
That was awesome, My Good Man. So, to avoid being blocked for inappropriate content, I will refrain from commenting on the case itself. Geez!
Good job Phillip. Poor Sophie did not even get a "one bite" rule on the front end - I mean back end.
I concur your best post or at least your most entertaining post to date. Everyone I've shared it with laughed till tears ran. I predict it will be a big hit on the national blog circuit. Judge Howard is a fair and balanced jurist...he will pull the trigger when a claim has no merit...and I appreciate that there may be more to this case (as there was in the McDonald's coffee case)than was stated ...but...
"We acknowledge Outlaw’s extreme fear of dogs. However, we cannot say that it was
reasonable for Penny Pinchers to anticipate that anyone, even someone with a great fear of
dogs, would have such a reaction to Sophie’s presence in the store. The invitee is required
to use in the interest of his own safety that degree of care and prudence which a person of
ordinary intelligence would exercise under the same or similar circumstances.”
That is kind of a nice way to say the plaintiff is an idiot.
Great post!
Better title: "Appeals Court Tells Plaintiff, That Dawg Won't Hunt".
"That Dawg Won't Hunt (You)"?
Since I have a bad miniature wiener, I am glad that my bad wiener can now act with impunity in the State of Mississippi, the one bite rule aside. "Stand Up Wieners!!!"