HOA Negligence – Dog Bite Injury in Alexandria City, VA
Posted on : 11-23-2009 | By : Legal Information | In : Dog Bites, Homeowners Association, Personal Injury, Real Estate Law
Tags: virginia dog bite, virginia hoa law
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Can a Homeowners Association be held liable for negligence if a dog bite victim is injured by a resident’s unrestrained dog in the HOA common area? There are no enclosed dog exercise areas within the HOA, and no signs prohibitting dogs from running at large within the HOA common areas. Over the years, there have been numerous complaints made against the owner of this aggressive dog yet she continues to exercise her unrestrained dog in the open common area and the HOA refuses to do anything about it. All the HOA does is refer people to the Animal Control Authorities to look into the incidents that have occurred.
A homeowner association can definitely be held liable for damages when an injury is sustained as a result of permitting dangerous dogs to roam common areas controlled by the association. Homeowner associations are required to be in compliance with all state and local laws. The Board of Directors of these associations have a fiduciary duty to manage and operate the common areas, which includes ensuring safety and warning of any known dangerous conditions. Even if the laws are not expressly incorporated into the CC&Rs, an association is still expected to do all that it is able to in order to ensure that there are no dangerous conditions in the common areas. Failure to do so will expose the HOA to a lawsuit.