Puppies and Palsgraf

In the classic tort case of Palsgraf v. Long Island Railroad Co., 162 N.E. 99 (N.Y. 1928), a foreseeable type of injury (equipment fell on a passenger waiting for a train) occurred through an unforeseeable chain of events (a dropped package contained fireworks, that exploded and caused a panic, which in turn caused the equipment to fall). The opinions in that case influence tort law to this day, both substantively, and as to the procedural issue of whether a judge or jury should resolve such questions.

In that tradition is the Fifth Court’s opinion in Cernak v. Studley, a suit about “the alleged negligent handling of a puppy.” The Court held that the foreseeability requirement of proximate cause was not established when “there is no evidence that [defendants’] should [have] reasonably anticipated that a third-party would leave the gate open and [defendant’s] father would open the back door to inadvertently facilitate Grayson’s escape out of the home and then the yard as [plaintiff] walked by on uneven terrain.” No. 05-22-00659-CV (April 26, 2023) (mem. op.).