May 12, 2008

DULUTH, Minn. –- A judge threw out a suit Friday brought by a man whose car was damaged when it struck and killed a dog, after emotional testimony by one of the defendants, a co-owner of the late miniature pinscher.

Fester, a 13-pound dog was killed instantly on Jan. 4 near the city of Cloquet when hit by Jeffery Ely’s 1997 Honda Civic. Fester squeezed past owner Nikki Munthe as she was letting in her other dog and ran onto the road.

Ely sued the Munthe family for about $1,100 for damage to his car, time taken off from work to address repairs and court fees.

Both sides represented themselves, and neither could prove negligence by the other, so Judge Gerald Maher dismissed the case.

“You don’t have a legal cause of action,” Maher said. “You never should have been here.”

When Fester ran, Munthe says she yelled at him to come back, her cries intensifying when she saw Ely’s car headed straight for him. Ely says he didn’t see the mostly black dog until it was too late to slam on his brakes. After hitting Fester, Ely used his car’s headlights to help find his body.

“He killed our dog,” Munthe told the court. “Our dog had a soul. His car didn’t. His car is repairable. A soul is not.”

The judge also dismissed the Munthes’ countersuit for $2,400 for time missed from work, as well as costs to cremate Fester and buy a replacement dog.

Cloquet imposes leash laws, but they wouldn’t apply in this case because the Munthes live outside city limits. The code is intended for people walking their dogs, said Cloquet Police Chief Wade Lamirande, and say that no person should permit an animal to run at large.

Because the Munthes did not intend Fester to run outside unleashed, Lamirande said the code probably wouldn’t apply even if they lived within city limits.

Ely says he doesn’t plan to appeal. He told the Duluth News Tribune that all the media attention the case has received has ruined his reputation.

“The dog shouldn’t have been there,” he said. “Roads are for cars, not for dogs.”

Tell us what you think about “Suit By Man Whose Car Killed Dog Is Thrown Out” below. Share your favorite videos by clicking on the ZootooTV tab. Send us your story ideas by e-mailing us at news@zootoo.com or by calling us at 877-777-4204.

The Associated Press and The Duluth News Tribune contributed to this article.