Christine H. Shertzer had to undergo plastic surgery to try to repair a large tear to her lower lip. Her attorney says she has suffered a permanent loss of sensation, has trouble eating and drinking without drooling and can't kiss without pain.
Shertzer, who works as a hostess at a Dundee winery, had attended a brunch as a guest along with members in the wine industry on March 31, 2013. When a smaller version of the party moved to the Carlton farm of Douglas and Jane Davis, she joined in.
During the five-day trial in Yamhill County Circuit Court, Shertzer contended that Hank -- a 65-pound Australian shepherd mix -- walked up next to her. She testified that she gently petted the dog on the top of the head and down the neck, but the dog suddenly lashed out without provocation by biting her.
"Blood is gushing out," said her attorney, Greg Kafoury of Portland. "She and her boyfriend rush to the truck to get to the hospital, and just as they're pulling out, they look back and Mr. Davis is already back at his table drinking beer."
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| Shertzer was here when she was attacked by the dog |
The Davises contended that Shertzer was drunk, and they pointed to reports of three people who said Shertzer "was not just petting (Hank) on top of his head, she had grabbed both sides of his face and she was rubbing them back and forth, and had leaned in very close to him," according to court papers filed by Lake Oswego attorney Patricia Brockway, who represented the couple. Brockway couldn't be reached for comment Tuesday about Monday's verdict.
But a doctor who wasn't close to the Davises, but was at the party with a date, testified that Shertzer was only petting the dog and not interacting roughly with it. The doctor said he didn't notice any signs of impairment in Shertzer.
The Davises said they'd never seen Hank bite anyone since they adopted him five years ago from an eastern Oregon puppy mill, where he lived in deplorable conditions.
Shertzer's attorney, however, called on the testimony of four workers who all said the dog was aggressive toward them while they remodeled the Davises' home in 2013 and 2014. Three of the four said Hank bit them -- two of them while in the presence of Douglas Davis.
One worker said he always kept his hand on his hammer when the dog was around in case he needed to use it to protect himself. He said that when the dog bit him in the buttocks, Douglas Davis was there and said that the dog had not just bitten him.
Shertzer's side also called on the testimony of a veterinarian, who wrote in chart notes that Jane Davis told her in 2010 that the dog was unpredictable, aggressive with other dogs and aggressive with the Davises.
The vet also wrote in the chart notes that the dog bit her when she tried to take his temperature -- prompting her to write a warning in the chart for other clinic employees.
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| They're calling him an Australian Shepherd mix, but I'm thinking they mean Australian Shepherd / German Shepherd mix |
The chart notes also stated that the vet advised Jane Davis to immediately enroll Hank in formal training, something the Davises did not do.
The Davises disputed the accuracy of the veterinarian's notes and argued that they never considered Hank to be aggressive. During a pretrial deposition in December 2014, Douglas Davis said the dog socializes with children as young as 2 and 4 years old and he saw no need to warn their parents about the dog.
Douglas Davis said he was "very surprised" that Hank bit Shertzer and that he has no concerns about the dog injuring someone again.
"Because he's a good dog," said Davis, 66. He's a retired pilot who served 24 years in the military before entering the private sector and ultimately retiring to raise grass seed, cattle and chickens on the couple's farm.
Shertzer testified that strangers who encounter her do a double-take to get a better look at her scar. Because of the location of her scar, she said visitors to the winery where she works have asked her if she has herpes.
But the Davises' attorney argued that despite Shertzer's claims of disfigurement, she was still able to get a new job at a winery.
Shertzer had asked for $668,420 -- about $16,000 for past medical bills, almost $50,000 for future medical bills to cover twice yearly injections of filler to her lip area, $2,000 in punitive damages and $600,000 for her pain and suffering.
Jurors 12-0 found Shertzer 48 percent at fault -- Kafoury said he spoke with a few afterward and they said Shertzer shouldn't have been petting a dog that she didn't know. The jury found the Davises 52 percent at fault.
I'm sorry but I disagree. If you're at a party at someone's house and they have a dog freely mingling with guests, you assume that the dog is friendly. It's not like she went up to a chained dog and tried to pet it. Or that there was a dog that was locked in a kennel and she went up to it at the party and tried to pet it through the cage. In the interest of being fair, I would put 10% of the blame on her. I do not put my face close to any dog that is not mine. Period.
The jury determined that Shertzer had incurred about $56,000 in past and future medical expenses and $153,000 worth of pain and suffering -- for a total of nearly $209,000. But because jurors found Shertzer 48 percent at fault, she is due only 52 percent of that amount, or roughly $108,000.
Kafoury said the Davises had a $1 million homeowners' insurance policy, which is paying out the verdict.
Hank still lives with the Davises.
(OregonLive.com - Apr 29, 2015)
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