Court of Appeals Affirms Zagoria Law Dog Bite Verdict
ATLANTA – March 8, 2020 – Zagoria Law and Jeff Klein P.C are celebrating a double victory after a court of appeals ruling in the Jones vs Bebee case. On February 18, 2020, the Georgia Court of Appeals confirmed the jury verdict in favor of Katrina Bebee in the case between Jones vs Bebee, While the defendants, Paul and Nicole Jones attempted to appeal the verdict awarded to Jones after her 2017 lawsuit by calling into question the evidence presented at trial and ruling by the trial judge, the Court of Appeals ruled in favor of Bebee. This is a great victory for Katrina Bebee, The Zagoria Law Firm, and co-counsel Jeff Klein, P.C. in their quest to achieve justice for Katrina Bebee.
Attorneys David Zagoria and Jeff Klein tried the case in front of a jury in March 2018 and the jury awarded Bebee a judgment of $75,000 compensatory damages and $50,000 in punitive damages for a total of $125,000 in damages. The punitive damages were awarded after Zagoria proved that the defendants were well aware of their dog’s propensity to bite and did not take reasonable precautions to protect the public from their dog. More specifically, Zagoria brought forth two prior victims as witnesses that had previously been bitten by the boxer dog, named Roy Jones Junior.
Despite the dog’s aggressive history, the Defendants’ did not crate, muzzle or effectively secure the dog while they were away. Bebee, a postal worker, was consequently bitten by the dog after she entered the property to deliver a package. The defendant’s 10-year-old accidently let the dog out of the home shortly after Bebee dropped off packages and as she got back in her vehicle and she was attacked. Bebee has suffered greatly as a result of the attacks. The bites left her with physical and emotional scars. “It was stressful, it was painful and terrifying,” said Katrina who was left with clearly visible physical scars and has had to undergo therapy to work through nightmares and a fear of dogs.
In their appeal the Jones’ challenged the issue of punitive damages by arguing that the evidence Zagoria presented was not indicative of the level of carelessness that warrants a compensation for the victim for such damages. However, the Court of Appeals declined to set aside the jury’s verdict. “We are very pleased with the decision today from the Court of Appeals. We were confident that the legal rulings by Judge Susan Edlein and factual findings of the jury would be upheld by the Court of Appeals. We look forward to pursuing the judgment and finally getting justice for Ms. Bebee. It has been a long road for her.
