On the evening of 25 July 2021, Shanghai.
Sun was walking around with a pet dog, as usual. The dog had come to a street light in the district, carrying his back leg and peeing on the street lamp, and had to twitch on the ground as if he had been electrocuted. Sun Koi immediately sent the dog to a pet hospital for rescue and died of electrocution.
After that, Sun, accompanied by Zhao Zhou Zhou Zhou Zhou Zhou, the district property manager, carefully examined the distressing street light and found that the street light poles had been badly rusted, that some of the wires had been exposed and that there had been serious electrical leakage. At the time of the incident, the dog had just peed on the exposed wire, resulting in electrocution.
Since then, Sun has on several occasions consulted with Zhao Yi, a small property company, seeking compensation for the loss of pet dogs and moral damage. However, Zhao Ochi, a property company, insisted that compensation for the partial loss of pet dogs would be granted only on the grounds of external factors such as the unwinding of the street light poles and the lack of mismanagement, and that the remaining claims were rejected.
On 20 August, Sun Hoi came to the Putu District Joint People ' s Mediation Committee to apply for mediation, requesting the property company to compensate the pet dogs for the full cost of their damage and for moral damage totalling more than $50,000.
In communication with the mediator, the property company Zhao Chiu explained:
In addition to the continuing storm effects of the typhoons, which resulted in the leakage of street lights in the sub-districts, prolonged acidic drowning of the lampposts was an important cause of damage to the lampposts. In its view, the claim for compensation for the full cost of the damage and moral damage to the pet dog totalling more than $50,000 was too high.
From a legal point of view, the mediator informed Zhao Zhao Ziqii that:
In accordance with article 45 of the Property Regulations of the People ' s Republic of China, property service enterprises shall refrain from violating the laws and regulations governing security, environmental protection, renovation and use of property in the property management area and report them to the relevant administrative authorities in a timely manner. The failure of the property company to comply proactively with its legal obligation to stop the lampposts, knowing that they are corroded with acidity and can cause damage to the lampposts, is one of the causes of the erosion of the lampposts by allowing long-term violations to occur.
At the same time, in accordance with article 55 of the Property Regulations of the People ' s Republic of China, in the event of a security threat to property that endangers the public interest and the legitimate rights and interests of others, those responsible shall maintain and maintain it in a timely manner. The failure of property companies to screen and maintain the security risks of the lampposts in a timely manner, particularly in the knowledge that the storm will cause damage to the lampposts, and in the broad context of the Government authorities ' demands to screen the security hazards prior to the storm ' s onset, the failure to organize personnel to detect the security risks of the lampposts was the main cause of the failure. Thus, the justification of Zhao Zhao Zhou for “the prolonged acidity of the lamppost and the significant cause of the damage to the lamppost” in addition to the continuous storm effects of the typhoon, is inconsistent with the relevant legal provisions and should not be used as justification for refusing compensation.
After hearing the mediator's interpretation,
Recognition of violations of the law by property companies
Consent to primary liability to the extent reasonably possible
The mediator then spoke in person with Sun, who said:
The failure of the property company to fully discharge its statutory responsibility for the management of public facilities, which resulted in the long-term lack of effective security of public facilities and security measures in the sub-region, was all the cause of the dispute and, fortunately, the damage caused by the accident of the dog had exposed the electricity leak, otherwise the consequences for the population were even more serious.
After some consolation, the mediator told Sun to:
Existing surveillance videos show that the failure of Sun Tsai to leash the dog while walking towards its familiar lamppost to urinate is an indication of failure of safety obligations. According to article 1246 of the Civil Code of the People's Republic of China: “An animal breeder or manager shall be liable for any violation of regulatory regulations that does not take safety measures against animals to the detriment of others. At the same time, prolonged acidic drowning of the lamppost is one of the major causes of damage to the lamppost, thus giving some legal basis to claims that property companies are unwilling to assume full responsibility.
Sun Ochi finally realized
There's something wrong with this dispute.
Expressed willingness to reduce liability of property companies
Final agreement to waive claims for moral damages
In the end, under the guidance of the mediator, the parties to the dispute will give mutual consideration, agree on a settlement of the dispute and sign a settlement agreement.
Case point review
This is a case of accidental damage to pets that are not adequately regulated by property companies for the management of public facilities in the sub-districts, especially in the event of a typhoon. In the present case, the failure to respond in a timely manner to the electrical failure of the street lights in the district, which resulted in the death of the pet dog from electrocution, would cause fear of public facilities among the owners of the district, seriously disrupt the normal life of the owner and have a negative impact on society. In the conciliation of this dispute, the mediator pacifies the feelings of the pet dog owner and conciliates against the contentious focus of the case, namely, the division of responsibilities between the parties. The conciliator uses a combination of legal reasoning to convince the parties of their responsibilities and ultimately enables the parties to reach a conciliation agreement, effectively avoiding the widening and escalation of the conflict.