Hyatt v. Anoka Police Department Minnesota 691 N.W.2d 824 (Minn. 2005) Summary: Plaintiff sued the Anoka Police Department after she was injured by a police dog in the attempted arrest of her husband. Plaintiff's claim was based on a Minnesota Statute that requires strict liability for injuries caused by adog so long as the dog was not provoked and the victim was acting peaceably in a place she was lawfully entitled to be. The City moved for dismissal on the theory that the statute did not apply to police dogs. The trial court held the statute does apply to police dogs and that the City was not immune from suit. The Court of Appeals reversed granting summary judgment to the City and holding application of the statute to the City "clearly produces an absurd result." The Supreme Court of Minnesota reversed again holding that application of the statute to the City did not produce an absurd result. Judge Hanson delivered the opinion of the court. Opinion of the Court: Appellant Lena Hyatt sued the City of Anoka and its police department (collectively, the "City") after she was injured by a police dog during the attempted arrest of her husband. Hyatt's complaint alleged liability solely on the basis of Minn.Stat. § 347.22 (2004) (the dog bite statute), which holds a dog owner strictly liable for injuries caused by the dogso long as the dog was not provoked and the victim was acting peaceably in a place where she had a lawful right to be. The City moved for summary judgment asserting that the dog bite statute did not apply to police dogs and, in the alternative, that the City was immune and that the police department is not a legal entity subject to suit. The district court denied the City's motion, but the court of appeals reversed, holding that it would be "absurd" to apply the dog bite statute to police dogs because police officers are authorized by statute to use reasonable force. Hyatt v. Anoka Police Dep't, 680 N.W.2d 115, 119-20 (Minn.App.2004). The court of appeals declined to address the City's immunity claims. Id. at 120. We reverse the decision of the court of appeals on the dog bite statute and remand to the court of appeals with directions to consider the City's immunity claims and the propriety of naming the police department as a defendant.At approximately 1:30 a.m. on May 21, 2002, four law enforcement officers arrived at a residence in St. Francis, Minnesota, to execute arrest warrants for Andrew Hyatt, who had been charged with a controlled substance crime, fleeing a police officer, and driving after revocation. The homeowner told the officers that Andrew Hyatt and his wife, appellant Lena Hyatt, were living in a two-story red barn behind the residence. After entering the barn through an unlocked door, the officers heard movement on the barn's second level. Sheriff's Deputy Paul Lenzmeier called for Andrew Hyatt to come out. After receiving no response, Lenzmeier and Deputy Todd Diegnau went upstairs and observed two people in bed, covered with a blanket. Lenzmeier called out again and noticed that the male, whom police later identified to be Andrew Hyatt, was awake. After Andrew Hyatt ignored Lenzmeier's order to show his hands, Lenzmeier pulled down the covers in an effort to reveal any weapons. The other person in bed was Lena Hyatt.According to deposition testimony and the deputies' departmental reports, Andrew Hyatt jumped from the bed, yelled something similar to "Go ahead, just shoot me, shoot me," and lunged toward the deputies. Andrew Hyatt struck Diegnau, and Lenzmeier called downstairs for assistance from Anoka Police Officer Mark Yates, who came upstairs with his police dog, Chips, on a leash. Yates saw Diegnau's bloodied face and Andrew Hyatt standing behind Lena Hyatt as he yelled, "Shoot me, shoot me." Lenzmeier believed that Lena Hyatt might have been "act[ing] as a shield for her husband."When Andrew Hyatt ran toward the back of the room, Yates released Chips. Instead of pursuing Andrew Hyatt, Chips apprehended Lena Hyatt, taking her to the ground and performing a "bite and hold" on her left leg and right arm. Withthe animal holding Lena Hyatt, Yates pursued Andrew Hyatt, who fled through a second-story window. When Yates later re-entered the room, he released Chips from Lena Hyatt and instructed Lenzmeier to handcuff and arrest her on suspicion of obstruction of legal process. Lena Hyatt was taken by ambulance to a Coon Rapids hospital and treated for a 2-inch laceration on her right elbow and a 5-inch laceration on her left knee.Hyatt sued the City, seeking compensation for medical costs and pain. Her complaint alleged liability on the sole basis of the dog bite statute, which reads:If a dog, without provocation, attacks or injures any person who is acting peaceably in any place where the person may lawfully be, the owner of the dog is liable in damages to the person so attacked or injured to the full amount of the injury sustained. The term "owner" includes any person harboring or keeping a dog but the owner shall be primarily liable. The term "dog" includes both male and female of the canine species. Minn.Stat. § 347.22.The City moved for summary judgment, arguing that the dog bite statute does not apply to police dogs. In the alternative, the City argued that it was entitled to statutory and vicarious official immunity. The City also argued that the police department was not a legal entity and thus was improperly joined as a defendant. The district court denied the City's motion, ruling that the dog bite statute applies to municipal owners of police dogs because the statute does not explicitly exempt police dogs. The district court also ruled that because the specific use of a police dog was "operational," the City was not entitled to immunity. The court did not address the question of the propriety of the joinder of the police department as a defendant.Before the court of appeals, the City argued that applying the dog bite statute to municipal owners of police dogs "clearly produces an absurd result." It relied on the guideline for statutory construction contained in Minn.Stat. § 645.17(1) (2004) which provides that "the legislature does not intend a result that is absurd, impossible of execution, or unreasonable." A divided court of appeals agreed and ordered summary judgment for the City. Hyatt, 680 N.W.2d at 119-20. The court did not address the immunity or proper party issues because they were moot. Id. at 120. We granted Hyatt's
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