Ch 18 Q9 The New Rochelle Humane Society made a contract wit

Ch. 18 Q9). The New Rochelle Humane Society made a contract with the city of New
Rochelle to capture and impound all dogs running at large. Spiegler, a minor, was bitten
by some dogs while in her schoolyard. She sued the school district of New Rochelle and
the Humane Society. With respect to the Humane Society, she claimed that she was a
third- party beneficiary of the contract that the Humane Society had made with the city.
She claimed that she could therefore sue the Humane Society for its failure to capture
the dogs that had bitten her. Was she entitled to recover?

Solution

The above case is similar to a decided case law ie Spiegler v. School District of the City of New Rochelle, 242 N. Y. S. 2d 430Spiegler v. School District of the City of New Rochelle, 242 N. Y. S. 2d 430.

In the above case it was held that it was the duty of muncipality to protect the public from maurauding animals, whether wild or domestic. The safety of general public is one of the basic functions of the government. It follows that in providing for the restraint of dangerous animals the muncipality acts in its sovereign capacity.It was held that the uncipal corporation has no liability for failure to enforce an ordinance restraining dogs from roaming at large among the public streets.

When the fault imputed to the city consists of mere failure to act for the plaintiff\'s protection there is no liability even today. More precisely, when the muncipality acts in its government capacity for the protection of general public it cannot be cast in damages for a mere failure to furnish effective protection to a particular individual to whom it has assumed no special duty. However if an affirmative act is done by the city it will lead to follow up of liability. However in this case there was no affiirmative act shown.

Hence as per the facts of above case Spiegler was not entitled to recover any damages.