Real-life MMD:Dogs destroyed neighbour's signed ball. Should we replace it?
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I am not a lawyer, but I don't think you are liable for the replacement of the ball. However, I do think it is always unwise to ignore any prospect of legal action, regardless of what you think of your neighbour's case.
I think I understand what you mean by the phrase 'as he is threatening', but it gives the wrong impression. If two people can't agree on a civil issue, they go to court. That's perfectly normal and what the judicial process is for. You shouldn't view it as a threat. There are far worse things a neighbour could do.
You might want to talk to your lawyer on an informal basis if you can (i.e. without being charged for it). Decide whether you still want to pay for a replacement ball or not. If so, tell your neighbour, 'this is what I am willing to do; that is more than the law requires in this situation and I am not willing to go further.' Also make clear that this is a one-off. Let your neighbour decide how he then wants to respond. Put the ball in his court, so to speak.0 -
it is a shame to be nasty to a young boy - forget the neighbor, think of the young son who must be disappointed and who you are obliged to do something about his lossBut as he's threatening, I feel like ignoring him.
Your dogs may be contained but they clearly haven't been trained not to be so destructive or is that a result of keeping them "contained"?
you cannot afford to be arrogant when the blame lies entirely and squarely on your shoulders for being an irresponsible dog owner
the neighbour is entitled to be very very angry - it could also be a reflection of your general relationship with neighbors which is clearly not so good
id recommend learning and understanding the psychology of dogs, re-training them not to be destructive and doing the decent thing which is to profousely apologise and pay for the young son's SIGNED ball
you have to pay for the irresponsibility just as the neighbor can be angry for your being an irresponsible dog owner - you can be irresponsible all you, but you'll have to pay for it0 -
meher
I have to disagree, you can train dogs all you like but you cannot guarantee that they'll never revert back to their so called destructive behavior, a headline from todays news will testify to that
Are you saying that if the child kicked the ball into the street and my car which was travelling along ran over and burst it then its my cars fault for being heavy because the ball burst
Sounds like irresponsible parenting to me, letting a child play with a so called collectable is just asking for trouble
If he's threatening court action it appears the neighbour relationship is soured already and I'd tell him to do one!!!0 -
I'd ask for proof that the ball WAS valuable. Does he have a certificate to prove its authenticity from an authorized dealer or did he ever have it appraised? If he's simply picked it up on eBay or the like there's no proof that the thing was a real signature. Anyone can squiggle on a football with a sharpie.
If not then he doesn't have a leg to stand on. He wouldn't be able to claim through his insurance without that proof, so why should you shell out?
If he does have that, and it's legitimate, perhaps try and come to some sort of amicable agreement. Fighting with your neighbours is never a good thing. I can just imagine him being petty over it- perhaps reporting your dogs to the council for noise pollution or something. Maybe you could go halfers or something.0 -
I'm guessing this has already been said a million times:
Nope.0 -
What if the garden had a decorative feature instead of dogs which popped the ball? Would you say the same?it is a shame to be nasty to a young boy - forget the neighbor, think of the young son who must be disappointed and who you are obliged to do something about his loss
Your dogs may be contained but they clearly haven't been trained not to be so destructive or is that a result of keeping them "contained"?
you cannot afford to be arrogant when the blame lies entirely and squarely on your shoulders for being an irresponsible dog owner
the neighbour is entitled to be very very angry - it could also be a reflection of your general relationship with neighbors which is clearly not so good
id recommend learning and understanding the psychology of dogs, re-training them not to be destructive and doing the decent thing which is to profousely apologise and pay for the young son's SIGNED ball
you have to pay for the irresponsibility just as the neighbor can be angry for your being an irresponsible dog owner - you can be irresponsible all you, but you'll have to pay for itYes Your Dukeiness
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Thanks mr-mixalot, yes, we'll disagree because i really do not respect folks who do not own up to their responsibilities which is 1. to be a good neighbor which they clearly aren't because good neighbor relationship would pacify such situations.2. More importantly to make sure their dogs are trained not to touch objects that do not belong to them and certainly not to pull and tear it apart. 3. To offer to pay for, even without being asked for. i'm shocked that there are such callous folks on the surface of the earth who think it is ok to inconvenience neighbors and young children and then channelise all their energies to justify their ungraceful behavior.mr-mixalot wrote: »meher
I have to disagree, you can train dogs all you like but you cannot guarantee that they'll never revert back to their so called destructive behavior, a headline from todays news will testify to that
Are you saying that if the child kicked the ball into the street and my car which was travelling along ran over and burst it then its my cars fault for being heavy because the ball burst
Sounds like irresponsible parenting to me, letting a child play with a so called collectable is just asking for trouble
If he's threatening court action it appears the neighbour relationship is soured already and I'd tell him to do one!!!
as for the if scenario, we can come up with if scenarios and justify each and every ugly deed but they are just strawmen - the kernal of the truth is that they are irresponsible dog owners and not so good neighbors, imo0 -
Meher - I don't agree with you that the dog owners must be irresponsible just because their dogs played with a football and damaged it in the process. But even if I did, that's not really even what's being debated here.
The dog owner is happy to pay for a replacement football but the issue here is that the football was (supposedly) an especially valuable, signed one. And, as others have pointed out, if that was the case, then kicking it around a garden and over the fence would already have severely reduced the value of the football. How much do you think a beaten-up, grass-stained football signed by Wayne Rooney is worth, exactly? In my opinion, asking the neighbour to purchase a brand-new signed ball to replace one that you were happy to give to your kids to kick about is completely unreasonable.
I know what you mean about not creating strawmen, but surely you can see that if you allow your kids to play with valuable items and drop them into your neighbour's garden then you have to take SOME responsibility for what happens to them?0 -
.2. More importantly to make sure their dogs are trained not to touch objects that do not belong to them and certainly not to pull and tear it apart. 3. To offer to pay for, even without being asked for. i'm shocked that there are such callous folks on the surface of the earth who think it is ok to inconvenience neighbors and young children and then channelise all their energies to justify their ungraceful behavior.
It became the dogs property when it landed in THEIR garden.
And as for inconvenience how about the little darling brat inconveniencing his neighbours with such anti social behaviour as invading the neighbours personal space with a flying object!
The child behaved appallingly with no consideration to others, and so should reap the just rewards, including the inconvenience of losing a football, having to replace it and apologising profusely to the neighbour whose space he invaded.
The only ungracious behaviour is that of the child and parent in not apologising and ensuring this does not happen again!
Clearly not a dog fan are you?Start info Dec11 :eek:
H@lifax [STRIKE]£13813.45[/STRIKE] paid Sep14 paid 23 months early :T
Mortgage [STRIKE]£206400[/STRIKE] :eek: £199750 Mortgage £112500
B@rclays £[STRIKE]25000[/STRIKE] paid 4 years 5 months early. S@ntander £[STRIKE]9300[/STRIKE] paid 2 years 2 months early
2013 8lb lost 2014 need to lose 14lb. Lost 4 so far!;)0 -
I agree with most of the previous posts. Absolutely no chance of me paying for a new signed ball. The offer of a new ball would be extremely generous to save any unnecessary bad feeling but if your neighbour is unwilling to accept this then he is not worth bothering about. As for legal action.........I would take my chances!!!!0
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