Two Oklahoma cases come to mind regarding whether or not a landlord can be held liable for damages caused by a renter’s dog.
In Robison v. Stokes, the Oklahoma Court of Appeals declined to hold that a contractual right of a tenant to have pets on the premises is tantamount to a landlord’s approval and knowledge of the presence of a dangerous animal. The court also held that a landlord does not have a duty to inspect the property to check for bad dogs after the tenant has taken possession.
In Bishop By and Through Childers v. Carroll, the Oklahoma Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of an absentee landlord in a dog bite case based on a lack of facts to support any knowledge by the landlord of the renter’s harboring a vicious dog. This might lead a person to believe that if a landlord was aware that a tenant had a vicious dog and took no action, then the landlord could be held liable for injuries inflicted by the dog.
However, in the Childers case the appellate court also said that it was persuaded by the application of language in a Washington Court of Appeals case. The Washington appellate court said that its prior cases had given the wrong impression because the court had discussed the lack of evidence regarding landlords’ actual knowledge or reason to know that dogs were on their rented property or that the dogs had vicious tendencies. In those cases, the Washington court went so far as to say that had the landlords known of the dogs and their tendencies, a different question might have been presented. The court noted that this discussion likely fostered the impression that if the landlords knew of the dog’s tendencies, the landlords would be liable for damages. The court then dispelled this impression when it stated that the settled law of Washington is that only the owner, keeper, or harborer of such a dog is liable — a landlord of an owner, keeper, or harborer is not.
It would seem from these cases that an Oklahoma landlord who is in actual possession and control of certain property may be liable for dangerous conditions that he creates and allows to exist on that property, but would not be liable for damages caused by a tenant’s dog.
If you or a loved one has suffered injuries from a dog bite, contact me today for a free consultation. I will use my experience, knowledge and resources to achieve the best possible results for you and your family.
