Judge Rejects Countersuits in Dog-Bite Case
A Glendale judge dismissed two cross-complaints filed by the city against the parents of a toddler mauled by her father’s police dog, ruling that the parents were in no way negligent.
Police Sgt. Ricardo L. Jauregui and his ex-wife, Roberta C. Jauregui, are seeking at least $1 million from Glendale on behalf of their daughter, who was attacked in 1984 by the dog assigned to Jauregui.
As a result of that lawsuit, the city filed cross-complaints against the couple claiming that they were negligent and should share responsibility for the mauling.
“There is no evidence whatsoever of any negligence on the part of Officer Jauregui . . . there is not one iota of evidence that he had done anything improper,” Superior Court Judge Joseph R. Kalin told the attorneys out of the presence of the jury. “And there is no testimony . . . that would show any negligence on the part of Mrs. Jauregui.”
Kalin’s dismissal of the city’s complaint came on the last day of testimony in the 3-week-old trial.
The attorneys are scheduled to give their closing arguments today.
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