Becker v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance

George Lincoln’s dog broke out of its penned enclosure and darted onto a roadway causing a vehicle operated by Cheryl Becker to take evasive action and leave the highway. Becker claimed injury as a result of the accident. The jury found both Becker and Lincoln not negligent.

Becker appeals, contending that a town of York-ville ordinance prohibiting a dog owner from permitting his dog to run at large constituted negligence per se. Alternatively, Becker contends that Lincoln was negligent as a matter of law under the ordinance. Because the jury was instructed that violation of the town ordinance…