Benningfield ex rel. Benningfield v. Zinsmeister

Opinion of the Court by

Justice NOBLE.

Under Kentucky’s dog-bite liability statutes, KRS 258.095 and .235, the owner of a dog is strictly liable for damages caused by the dog. This case presents the questions whether a landlord can be liable under the statutory scheme’s broad definition of “owner” and whether that liability can extend to injuries caused by a tenant’s dog off the leased premises. We hold that a landlord can be the owner of a tenant’s dog for the purposes of liability under certain circumstances, but that any such liability extends only to injuries caused on or immediately…