A judge has thrown out the personal injury suit of a limousine driver who claimed his onetime clients’ aging Labrador named Bear jumped on his back and knocked him over. "Plaintiff has failed to raise an issue of fact regarding the dog’s known proclivity for behavior that poses a risk of harm," Supreme Court Justice F. Dana Winslow (See Profile) in Nassau County wrote in Bashang v. Pisano, 19175/10.
In his suit, Hossein Bashang claimed that after he dropped off Christopher Pisano and his wife at their home he heard barking as he walked back to his car. Bashang said he felt "a heavy pushing sensation from behind and something coming down upon his shoulder." As the driver fell, Bashang claimed he saw Pisano taking Bear back to the house. The dog, who was 8 at the time of the incident, did not growl at or bite Bashang.
