GALVESTON - A Santa Fe couple sued after their dog purportedly attacked a local woman have filed a summary judgment in the case, according to recent court records.
In the 16-page document submitted Dec. 27, 2013, Tihara and Gerald Hall insist Ellarein Fourcade did not provide evidence their dog assaulted her more than two years ago.
As previously reported, Fourcade launched the litigation against the Halls last March 14 over the June 10, 2011, incident in question.
She claims the canine bit her one time on the back of her left leg and inflicted “severe, painful and permanent” injuries.
The Halls reportedly did not have a "beware of dog" sign posted on their property.
Fourcade further accuses the respondents of failing to properly manage and control the dog and allowing said dog to “viciously attack and bite” her.
Meanwhile, the defendants formally deny the allegations.
Their motion asserts that Fourcade "entered the defendants' property uninvited and without the actual or constructive knowledge of the defendants for the purpose of checking on the defendants' neighbors," labeling the claimant a "trespasser."
It adds her own interrogatory responses "establish the lack of evidence."
"To date, the plaintiff has produced no evidence of the dangerous or vicious nature of the defendants' dog," the motion says.
"The only evidence presented as to the temperament of the dog indicates that the bite suffered by the plaintiff was the first occurrence of its kind as to the dog in question."
Attorney Melissa Krampota of G. Patrick Collins & Associates in Houston is representing the Halls.
Cause No. 69,475