My Dog Scard A Bystander and he jumped on car and caused MINOR DAMAGE?

My dog got loose from leash scard a bystander, the bystander jumped on person's vehicle.Caused minor damage a dent in the roof of a car.Now owner of vehicle is making me pay for all damages. The owner contaced the insurance company and flied a claim and there making me pay for $6,000 in damages for a dent. We don't have renters insurance which i was told would pay for it but. Should the guy who jumped on the car be part to blame and have to pay something half?

There are a lot of questions in here. When you say the owners are "making you pay" does that mean they have a court judgment against you? Or did they just send you a letter demanding that you pay? People can send you letters all they want, but they need the court to force you to pay.

In general, before someone can "make you pay" they have to go to court and prove that you were responsible. When you are taken to court, you will have a chance to point the finger at the guy that jumped on the car.

In legal terms, you may have been negligent in letting your dog off its leashed, but the bystander on the car may have committed "contributory negligence" by jumping on the roof.

I don't know anything about your case, and I'm not a lawyer, but I think it would be difficult to prove that you owed the owner of the car a duty of care, which you breached by letting your dog off its leash, and that breach caused the damage to the roof without any intervening causes like the bystander jumping on the roof.

This is not meant as legal advice: you should consult a lawyer. This is just for your information. I recommend calling a legal clinic in your area. Use Yahoo to search for it even...

This is a tricky question. You do need to be in control of your animal at all times, but the issue hinges on whether or not the bystander who caused the actual damage acted reasonably. Is this a big dog? Were other people frightened? Did the dog lunge or snap at the bystander, or just run by? These are all contributing factors that would need to be sorted out. If you truly don't think you are liable for the damage, or at least no liable for all of it, you should let them take you to court, hire a lawyer, and fight it out. The car owner should really be seeking damages from each of you.

Some of this will also depend on the laws in your state.

The guy who was scared should be paying for the damage not you. Just because a dog is loose and a man get scared of a dog doesn't mean that you are responsibile for the damage to the car the man who got scared is responsisble for his reaction to the dog. What if the dog had been on a leash and the man did the same thing? It's his fault there was damage to the car not yours.

Think of it this way. If your dog did NOT get loose, would the other person have jumped on the car? No. The CAUSE of the person jumping on the car was because he was scared by YOUR loose dog.

The owner of an animal must ALWAYS have control. Therefore, since you were NOT in control, you are liable for the damages.

WHO is making you pay? The vehicle owner's insurance company? If so, I would contact the person's insurance company and request to see 2 or three repair estimates for fixing the damage.

If you do NOT pay for the damage, more than likely the insurance company will file a claim with the courts.

Maybe, but it's a longshot.

The guy wouldn't have jumped on the car if your dog hadn't scared him and he couldn't have been scared if your dog was properly restrained.

I think you're on the hook for this.

That being said, $6000 for a dent is absurd. Demand to take pictures of the damage and go around to some body shops and get a realistic figure.

All they have to do is pull the dent out, for crying out loud and maybe do a bit of touchup with the paint - that doesn't cost $6000.

You're being ripped off.

Your dog was loose and you are responsible for any damages that he/she may have caused. This includes scaring someone and that person jumping on a vehicle. Before you pay out any money make sure you see the estimate, and demand that they get three different quotes. $6000 for a dent seems quite unrealistic unless it was a Beamer or something comparable.

Considering your dog was loose, you get to pick up the tab for damages. The bystander is not at all liable in my opinion. Sorry.

Absolutely.