SHB’s Phil Goldberg Comments on Pet-Injury Litigation Involving Non-Economic Damages

Shook, Hardy & Bacon Public Policy Partner Phil Goldberg has co-authored, with the current chair of the New Jersey State Bar Association’s Animal Law Committee, a commentary titled “Barking Up the Wrong Tree,” published in the September 17, 2012, issue of the New Jersey Law Journal. The commentary discusses a New Jersey Supreme Court ruling denying emotional distress damages to a woman whose dog was attacked by a neighbor’s dog and died.

Noting that more and more pet owners are seeking these types of damages
when their pets are injured or killed, the authors contend that limiting pet
owners to economic damages will best protect their pets in the long run.
According to the authors, “[p]et economics is simple. At litigation-inflated
prices, many owners will no longer be able to afford services and products
their pets need. The quality of pets’ lives will be lowered, and in some cases,
owners may be forced to euthanize their pets if they cannot or will not pay
higher costs of care.”