AUSTIN, Texas, Sept. 25 (UPI) -- The Texas Supreme Court says it will take up a case seeking to allow people to claim damages for the sentimental, rather than market, value of their pets.
The state's highest court agreed last week to hear oral argument after an animal shelter employee in Fort Worth appealed a landmark appellate court ruling overturning a 120-year-old Texas law stating a person can sue for only the market value of a pet, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported Tuesday.
The case began when a lost dog was taken to an animal shelter and mistakenly euthanized three years ago. The owner's suit in Tarrant County District Court, which claimed damages for the sentimental value of the dog, was dismissed, but the appellate court in Fort Worth later reversed the lower court's decision.
"Dogs are unconditionally devoted to their owners. We interpret timeworn Supreme Court law to acknowledge that the special value of man's best friend should be protected," the appeals court ruling stated.
John Cayce, the lawyer representing animal shelter employee Carla Strickland in her appeal, said pet owners can already sue for reasonable damages in the event of a pet's accidental death.
"The lower court ruling expands the law for pet owners to recover unlimited emotional damages, which is more than someone can recover for a parent or grandparent. [Animals] should not be placed into this intimate familiar category as a matter of public policy."
Randy Turner, the lawyer of the dog owner in the Fort Worth case, said veterinarians "are terrified of this case."
"They think it's going to result in huge jury verdicts and skyrocketing malpractice insurance premiums," Turner said.
