Riad v. Brandywine Valley Spca, Inc.

Summary

The Court held that Delaware's dog-bite statute unambiguously imposes strict liability on any person or entity that owns, keeps, harbors, or is the custodian of a dog, without an exception for animal-welfare organizations. Whether the defendant was Ceelo's owner or custodian when the bite occurred remained a disputed fact, precluding summary judgment. The Court also held that expert testimony was not required to establish ordinary negligence involving an organization's handling of a dog with known aggressive propensities. No separate opinions were filed.