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Tort Law Cases

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Submitted By moon0123
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Tort Law Cases/Assignments
Trial Procedures
Lewis v. Robinson 2001 BCSC 643 British Columbia Supreme Court The plaintiff, Kenneth Lewis, was a delivery person. He knew that the defendants, Will Robinson and Marci Salach, were the new owners and occupants of the property, but Lewis didn't know that the defendants had a dog. Lewis entered the property and was confronted by Salach and her dog. She was holding the dog's leash at the time. Most times, the dog was chained to its doghouse on the defendants' property. However, on this particular day, Lewis arrived on the property, startling Salach and the dog. Salach asked Lewis to identify himself, received no response, and then warned him that the dog did not like strangers and to be careful. Lewis saw the defendant speaking, but claimed he couldn't hear her as the dog was barking. He tried to pet the dog and then tried to move out of the dog's range when the dog bit his hand. Prior to this incident, the dog had never attacked, bitten, or lunged at strangers, and there was no evidence of complaints from neighbours or friends. Lewis brought an action for damages, but his action was dismissed.

For Discussion
1. Why did Lewis bring an action against the defendants . Lewis believed he was entitled to damages for the injury he suffered when the dog bit his hand.
2. Summarize the conflicting evidence. Lewis claimed that the defendants should have taken greater care to protect strangers from the dog. Although the dog was being held on a leash, Lewis felt that the defendants should have had the dog chained. Finally, he was only trying to be friendly and pet the dog. The defendants would argue that Lewis was a stranger on their property, that he was asked to identify himself and didn't, and that Salach

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