Liability for Stray Livestock on Public Highways

1
Liability for Stray Livestock on Public Highways

• Presumption of negligence if ownership is proven
• This means the Plaintiff has an easier case, as
  now it is the Defendant (rancher) who is
  negligent unless he is able to convince 9 or
  more of the jurors that his livestock escaped
  even though he was non-negligent
• How to prove non-negligence?
• Show that your fences are strong, adequate to
  restrain livestock
• Show that your livestock have not escaped before,
  or seldom
• Show that you regularly check your livestock and
  fences
• Show that you promptly recapture escaped
  livestock after knowing or being told they are
  out of their enclosure

2
Liability for Livestock Trespass

• Exterior Fence Strict Liability
• Possible Defenses Force Majeure (act of God),
  or the intervening negligence of a third party
  like a vehicle crashing through a livestock fence
  and the animals escaping onto the road where
  another vehicle collides with the animal
• Division Fence Liable for actual damages if
  livestock enters over portion in need of repair
  andlandowner/tenant had a duty to maintain that
  portion

3
Defenses for the Livestock Owner

• Due Care in Herding Along Highway
• Determined by the jury
• Act of God (force majeure)
• That an uncontrollable and intervening event,
  such as a storm, caused the livestock to get out
  even though the rancher had adequate fences
• Comparative Fault
• That the driver of a vehicle colliding with
  livestock was negligent
• Due Care Lacking by the Person Restraining Strays

4
Remedies for LivestockRunning at Large

• Written notice to livestock owner w/in 3 days
• Missouri Statutes, Chapter 270.010
• Notice should also include costs of upkeep
• Horses, mules, asses, cattle, swine, sheep,
  goats, or domestic geese
• Does NOT include chickens, dogs, cats

5
OGara v. Kane(Illinois, 1976)

• It shall be unlawful for any
  horse to run at large in the State of
  Illinois Provided, that no owner or keeper of
  such animals shall be liable for damages in any
  civil suit for injury to the person or property
  of another caused by the running at large
  thereof, without the knowledge of such owner or
  keeper, when such owner or keeper can establish
  that he used reasonable care in restraining such
  animals from so running at large.
• 1931 Illinois Statute, Chapter 8, Section 1

6
Livestock Running At LargeMissouri Statute,
Chapter 270.010 (1939)

• It shall be unlawful for the owner of any animal
  or animals of the species of horse, mule, ass,
  cattle, swine, sheep or goat, in this state, to
  permit the same to run at large outside the
  enclosure of the owner of such stock,, provided,
  that said owner shall not be responsible for any
  accident on a public road or highway . . . IF he
  establishes the fact that the said animal or
  animals were outside the enclosure through no
  fault or negligence of the owner.