LOS ANGELES (WKRC) – A Los Angeles County Superior Court jury awarded Genice Horta $5.4 million after finding she was severely injured by a dog with a documented history of biting at an L.A. animal shelter.
Horta, 51, filed suit more than three years ago, alleging she was not warned about the dog’s prior attacks before she was hired to take it out of state, reports Los Angeles Times. The attack occurred Sept. 23, 2020, at the East Valley Animal Shelter.
Horta was hired by the HIT Living Foundation to transport a Belgian Malinois named Maximus to Arizona. She said a shelter employee told her the dog had “kennel anxiety.” After offering the dog a treat containing trazodone, Maximus lunged and bit her right hand and arm, according to trial testimony via the news outlet.
Horta underwent six surgeries and suffered permanent damage, court records show.
A shelter employee testified that he warned Horta not to approach the dog with the treat and that he attempted to restrain the animal. Horta’s lawsuit alleged she was not properly warned of Maximus’ history, which included prior biting incidents that sent two people to the hospital.
Shelter documentation, as reported by the Los Angeles Times, described the dog as “viciously biting and snapping at people walking past his enclosure,” and included a warning that read, “USE EXTREME CAUTION!!!”
Horta’s attorney, Ivan Puchalt, said the case “revealed a series of serious and preventable mistakes made with respect to warning about Maximus’ bite history and adopting out and failing to control a dangerous dog.”
Jurors found the city of Los Angeles 62.5% liable, the rescue group 25% liable and Horta 12.5% liable.
The verdict marks the third reported payout in recent years involving claims that L.A. animal shelters failed to warn about dangerous dogs.
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