Bueckner v. Hamel

886 S.W.2d 368, 1994 WL 468303
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedSeptember 22, 1994
Docket01-94-00010-CV
StatusPublished
Cited by32 cases

This text of 886 S.W.2d 368 (Bueckner v. Hamel) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Bueckner v. Hamel, 886 S.W.2d 368, 1994 WL 468303 (Tex. Ct. App. 1994).

Opinions

[370]*370OPINION

HEDGES, Justice.

Appellant, Carl Bueckner, challenges an award of $1,450 actual damages and $2,500 punitive damages in favor of appellees, Anthony Hamel and Kathy Collins, for the negligent, careless, or intentional killing of ap-pellees’ dogs.1 We affirm.

Fact Summaiy

On November 8, 1989, Bueckner shot two dogs, a dalmatian and an Australian shepherd, belonging to appellees. He was in a deer stand when he observed a group of dogs chasing a doe and her fawn. The dogs were not on property owned by any of the parties. Bueckner was charged with cruelty to animals in connection with this incident. He pled no contest and was ordered to pay appellees $375 in restitution, which he did. Appellees then filed the present civil lawsuit charging Bueckner with negligently, carelessly, or intentionally killing their dogs.

The trial court entered the following conclusions of law and findings of fact, among others:

Findings of Fact
III.
E. The dogs killed by Defendant had a market value.
F. The dogs killed by Defendant had pecuniary value to the Plaintiffs.
G. The dogs killed by Defendant would have produced litters of puppies valuable to the Plaintiffs.
H. The dogs killed by Defendant had intrinsic value to the Plaintiffs and were companions to the Plaintiffs.
I. The dogs killed by Defendant had special value to the Plaintiffs and were loved as pets by the Plaintiffs.
J. Plaintiffs have sustained actual damages in the amount of $1825.00.
K. Defendant is allowed a credit of $375.
Conclusions of Law
1. Each and all of the acts of the Defendant were intentional and were a proximate cause of the incident made the basis of this suit and the resulting damages to the Plaintiffs.
2. No acts of Plaintiffs were proximate or contributing cause of the incident in question.
3. There was no prior settlement or accord and satisfaction.
4. Plaintiffs are entitled to judgment of and from the Defendant, Carl Bueckner, for the following amounts:
a. $1,450.00 for Plaintiffs actual damages plus prejudgment interest on this amount at the rate of 10% per annum from the date of the filing of this lawsuit, May 15, 1990;
b. $2,500.00 in punitive damages;
c. all costs of court plus postjudgment interest at the rate of 10%.

Damages

In his first three points of error, Bueckner argues that the trial court’s finding of actual damages cannot be based on the value of prospective puppies. He contends that once the value of the unborn puppies is subtracted from the actual damages, the evidence is legally and factually insufficient to support a finding of $1825 actual damages.

Texas law recognizes a dog as personal property. Arrington v. Arrington, 613 S.W.2d 565, 569 (Tex.Civ.App.—Fort Worth 1981, no writ). As owners of the dogs, appel-lees are entitled to recover for their wrongful destruction. City of Garland v. White, 368 S.W.2d 12, 16 (Tex.Civ.App.—Eastland 1963, writ refd n.r.e.).

The contention that actual damages cannot be based on the value of prospective progeny is supported by three arguments: (1) that measure of damages represents speculative consequential damages not allowed by law; [371]*371(2) there is no evidence to support an award for damages for prospective puppies; and (3) there is insufficient evidence to support such an award. We agree in part and disagree in part.

The value of unborn offspring is highly uncertain. Our research indicates that the issue of damages for prospective progeny has not been addressed in many years. In the mature case of Claunch v. Osborn, 23 S.W. 937, 938 (Tex.Civ.App.1893, no writ), the court reversed a judgment awarded for injuries sustained when the defendant’s stock was turned into the plaintiffs pasture. The plaintiff alleged that the defendant’s stock interfered with the breeding habits of his mules, prohibiting them from reproducing. The court held that the “portion of the amended original petition asking for damages for loss of prospective mule colts should have been stricken, ... as the same was speculative, and not recoverable.” Id. We think that this law, though hoaty, is still sound.

We hasten to make a distinction between the value of the deceased animal itself and that of its progeny. In Heiligmann v. Rose, 81 Tex. 222, 16 S.W. 931 (Tex.1891), the court was asked to define the value of plaintiffs deceased dogs for the purpose of assessing actual damages. The court wrote that

The special charge asked by [plaintiff], and given by the court, substantially presents the true rule in determining the value of dogs. It may be either a market value, if the dog has any, or some special or pecuniary value to the owner, that may be ascertained by reference to the usefulness and services of the dog.

Id, 16 S.W. at 932. It is clear that the measure of damages arises from the animal itself, not from its future progeny. Of course, in some circumstances, breeding potential may be considered in the value of an animal. If a triple crown winning thoroughbred horse were killed the day before it was put out to stud, and there was evidence that the animal was at least potentially fertile, a court might properly consider the pecuniary value of the horse in assessing either its market value (what someone else would pay for it) or its pecuniary value to the owner (reasonably expected stud fees over the life of the animal, discounted to present value). In that instance, the court would look to the animal itself, not to the sales price of its colts, to determine damages.

In this case, we must assess the value of the dogs themselves, not that of their unborn puppies. The record shows the following:

1. The dalmatian was a two-year old female purebred registered with the American Kennel Club.
2. The Australian shepherd was a three-year old female purebred registered with the Australian Shepherd Club.
3. Appellees planned to breed both dogs and had picked out a male for the Australian shepherd.
4. Each female dog could be expected to breed once a year and produce six or eight puppies.
5. The Australian shepherd had already mated with a labrador, and appellees had given the puppies away.
6. The dogs were purchased for the purpose of breeding them with purebred males and selling their puppies. Each had a value based on the puppies she produced.
7. Market value for dalmatian puppies ranges from $125 to $400 each and from $125 to $700 each for Australian shepherd puppies.

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Bluebook (online)
886 S.W.2d 368, 1994 WL 468303, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/bueckner-v-hamel-texapp-1994.