Van Houten v. Pritchard

Robert H. Dudley, Justice.

The defendant, Peter Van Houten, had owned a cat for three years before it bit the plaintiff, Rick Pritchard. During that period it had never shown a disposition toward biting or being abnormally dangerous, and the defendant allowed it to run at large. On March 21, 1992, the cat entered plaintiff’s garage and urinated, and, as plaintiff tried to take it outside, it bit plaintiff on his right index finger. As a direct result of the bite, plaintiff has undergone four surgeries, is fitted with a plastic finger joint, and has expended more than $39,000 for medical…