Kimbrough v. Keenum


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Docket Number: 2009-CA-02039-COA
Linked Case(s): 2009-CA-02039-COA ; 2009-CT-02039-SCT

Court of Appeals: Opinion Link
Opinion Date: 04-19-2011
Opinion Author: Ishee, J.
Holding: Affirmed.

Additional Case Information: Topic: Personal injury - Duty of reasonable care - Liability of landlord
Judge(s) Concurring: Lee, C.J., Irving and Griffis, P.JJ., Barnes, Roberts, Carlton and Maxwell, JJ.
Non Participating Judge(s): Myers, J.
Procedural History: Summary Judgment
Nature of the Case: CIVIL - PERSONAL INJURY

Trial Court: Date of Trial Judgment: 12-15-2009
Appealed from: Jackson County Circuit Court
Judge: Dale Harkey
Disposition: Summary Judgment Entered in Favor of the Defendants
Case Number: 2008-00,134(3)

  Party Name: Attorney Name:   Brief(s) Available:
Appellant: Randall Kimbrough and Ruth Kimbrough




PATRICK R. BUCHANAN, RAYMOND L. BROWN, TIMOTHY LEE MURR



 
  • Appellant #1 Reply Brief

  • Appellee: Delores Keenum, Individually and The Will Ray Keenum and Dolores Ferreres Keenum Revocable Inter Vivos Trust BRETT K. WILLIAMS, KEVIN M. MELCHI  

    Synopsis provided by:

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    Topic: Personal injury - Duty of reasonable care - Liability of landlord

    Summary of the Facts: Randall and Ruth Kimbrough were attacked on their property by two pit bulls that lived in a rental house across the street. The Kimbroughs filed a negligence suit against the tenant and the landlords of the rental property. The property was owned by the Will Ray Keenum and Delores Ferreres Keenum Revocable Inter Vivos Trust. The landlords filed a motion for summary judgment which the court granted. The Kimbroughs appeal.

    Summary of Opinion Analysis: The Kimbroughs argue that the trial court erred by granting the defendants’ motion for summary judgment when it held that the defendants did not owe the Kimbroughs a duty of reasonable care. The plaintiff must prove that a duty exists to conform to a specific standard for the protection of others against the unreasonable risk of injury. The Kimbroughs fail to provide authority for the proposition that a landlord can be held liable for injuries occurring on property neither owned nor controlled by the landlord. The majority view holds that landlords are not responsible for dog attacks that occur outside of the leased premises. The attacks in the present case occurred on land that was neither owned nor controlled by the landlord. It is undisputed that the dog attacks occurred on the Kimbroughs’ property. It is also undisputed that the dogs were owned by Weaver, Younts’s boyfriend, who lived with Younts in the rental property. Weaver was not a part of the lease agreement. As a matter of law, the defendants did not owe a duty of reasonable care to the Kimbroughs. Thus, any questions of fact as to whether the defendants had knowledge of the dogs’ dangerous propensities are moot. Alternatively, the Kimbroughs argue that the defendants assumed a duty to protect the Kimbroughs when Keenum admitted in her deposition that she had a duty to protect her neighbors from vicious dogs on her property. However, no evidence exists in the record that a duty was imposed upon the defendants by contract or that Keenum voluntarily assumed a duty from the statements she made in her deposition.


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