 Staten Island Advance/Michael OatesHenry Piotrowski, a World War II veteran, was mauled by two pit bulls on July 1, 2008. He died on Aug. 17. He's photographed here with his grandniece.STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- The city is not liable for the death four years ago of a 90-year-old Port Richmond man mauled by a neighbor's pit bulls, despite other residents' complaints to authorities about the dogs, a Staten Island judge has ruled. State Supreme Court Justice Thomas P. Aliotta said a municipality can't be found at fault in such instances unless the individual attacked establishes a "special relationship" with it to provide protection "beyond that owed to the public at large." In this case, neither the victim, Henry Piotrowski, nor a member of his immediate household had lodged any of the nine complaints about the dogs to police, the judge said. "Absent a special relationship, a municipality may not be held liable for injuries caused by a breach of duty owed to the public at large, e.g., to provide police protection," Aliotta wrote. Visit http://www.silive.com/news/index.ssf/2012/08/staten_island_judge_city_is_no.html for the entire story. © 2012 SILive.com. All rights reserved.
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Judge Aliotta: City is not liable for the death of man mauled by neighbor's pit bulls.posted Aug 20, 2012, 5:39 AM by Pete Weinman |
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