Matthews v. Amberwood Associates Limited Partnership, Inc.

719 A.2d 119 (1998)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

Morton leased an apartment from Ds. The lease Morton signed contained the following provisions: '18. Not to have any pets on the premises.' Morton kept her boyfriend's dog, a pit bull named Rampage, in her apartment. Sometimes she kept the dog chained outside, on the grounds of the apartment complex. The dog was nice toward persons when Morton was present, but, when she was absent, Rampage would attempt to attack people in his vicinity. Several employees of Ds testified about dangerous encounters involving the dog, that the dog was 'vicious,' and that the incidents involving the dog were reported to Ds' resident manager or the manager on duty. A maintenance supervisor testified that on two occasions he was unable to complete service calls in Morton's apartment because of the dog. On both occasions, he wrote the reason for his failure to complete the service calls on the service ticket. Porters were unable to pick up trash behind the apartment building when Rampage was chained behind the building because 'the dog came after them.' The matter was reported to the resident manager of the apartment complex. D did nothing and did not evict Morton. Shanita Matthews and her 16-month-old son Tevin Williams visited Morton and Morton's 5-year-old son at Morton's apartment. The children were playing together in the living room. The adults were seated at the dining room table putting together a puzzle when Morton was called away from the apartment. Shortly after Morton left, Rampage attacked Tevin. Rampage grabbed Tevin by the neck and was shaking him back and forth. Matthews was unable to free Tevin. Matthews called 911 and yelled for Morton to assist her. Morton was unable to free Tevin. She grabbed a knife and repeatedly stabbed Rampage causing the animal temporarily to release Tevin. Tevin died. P sued Ds for wrongful death. The jury awarded damages as follows: $ 5,018,750 to Matthews and $ 562,100 to Williams for the wrongful death of Tevin; $600,000 non-economic damages and $4,147.52 compensatory damages to Tevin's estate under the survival action; and $1,110,000 to Matthews as damages for 'intentional infliction of emotional distress prior to the death of Tevin Williams.' Both sides appealed, and the Court of Special Appeals reversed the judgment in favor of Ps, holding that, under the circumstances, Ds owed no duty to the social invitees of a tenant. P appealed. P presented the following question: Does a landlord owe a duty of care to visitors when the landlord has knowledge of a vicious animal on its premises and the ability to take reasonable steps to protect against the animal?