Lawyers who sued over meds given to wrong dog can seek $67K, says appeals court
Two lawyers who sued a Georgia dog kennel over an alleged medication error to one of the two pets they boarded there have been limited in the amount of damages they can claim.
Robert and Elizabeth Monyak can present evidence of the veterinary bills they paid over a nine-month period before the death of their 8-year-old dachshund mix, Lola, a state appeals court said last week. But, partially reversing a trial court ruling in the Fulton County case, the Georgia Court of Appeals said the couple can’t recover for the “intrinsic value” to them of the dachshund mix, absent some proof of economic loss, explains the Daily Report (sub. req.).
Robert Monyak, who is handling the case himself along with his Peters & Monyak partner Jon Peters, said he is delighted with the green light to proceed to trial against Barking Hound Village and kennel manager William Furman.
“We’re all in on this case—always have been,” he said. “This is a matter of principle to us.”
The defendants, he noted, had moved to dismiss the case arguing that a rescue dog has “no market value.”
Monyak and his wife, who works for the state attorney general’s office, say they spent some $67,000 in treatment costs for Lola, who was given dialysis in Georgia and Florida before she died. The couple went on a 10-day vacation and left the small dog and their much larger 13-year-old labrador mix, Callie, along with Callie’s arthritis medicine, Rimadyl, in 2012. When they returned, Lola seemed lethargic, their suit says, and the couple learned that kennel workers accidentally gave Callie’s medicine to Lola.
Partner Joel McKie of Hall Booth Smith is representing the defendants. He told the legal publication he is not authorized to comment.