State’s High Court Rules Emotional Damages Cannot Be Awarded for Death of a Pet

The batteries died in my speedlite and Ginger thought it was now safe to look into the camera and smile. BURN! Pop up built-in flash! (Photo credit: colorblindPICASO)
You may consider Rover a member of the family, but the NJ State Supreme Court does not, at least when it comes to awarding emotional damages. If, after reading the following, you need the assistance of a Hunterdon County lawyer with an emotional damages lawsuit, contact the personal injury attorneys at Ragland Law Firm in Lebanon, N.J.
The ruling stems from a case first reported in this blog in August 2011. The case was filed by Joyce McDougall, who, while walking her Maltese-poodle mix in a Morris Plains neighborhood, witnessed the dog being mauled to death by another, larger dog. The owner of the second dog, Charlot Lamm, admitted liability. McDougall filed a lawsuit seeking the cost of replacing her dog as well as emotional damages from witnessing the attack. (1)