UNAPPROVED DRAFT BILL -- Subject to Change Without Notice!
BILL NO.
INTRODUCED BY
(Primary Sponsor)
A BILL FOR AN ACT ENTITLED: "AN ACT SPECIFYING THE DAMAGES THAT MAY BE SOUGHT IN A CIVIL ACTION FOR DEPRIVATION OF THE SERVICES OF CERTAIN TRAINED ANIMALS; AND PROVIDING AN APPLICABILITY DATE."
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MONTANA:
NEW SECTION. Section 1. Purpose -- exceptions. (1) The purposes of [sections 1 through 3] are:
(a) to recognize that there are services performed by some animals that are beyond companionship;
(b) to recognize that some of those services have an economic value; and
(c) to allow an owner or handler who has been injured by the wrongful deprivation of a service of a certain animal to recover damages for that deprivation if the deprivation is caused by the action of another person.
(2) [Sections 1 through 3] do not apply to:
(a) a licensed or recognized humane society, animal shelter, or animal pound;
(b) an animal control agency or authority;
(c) an action taken in accordance with a court order; or
(d) an act subject to Title 81, chapter 30, part 1.
NEW SECTION. Section 2. Definitions. As used in [sections 1 through 3], the following definitions apply:
(1) "Deprive" means to:
(a) withhold a trained animal from its owner or handler permanently or for such a period of time that a major portion of the value or enjoyment of the trained animal is lost to the owner or handler;
(b) withhold a trained animal from its owner or handler and restore the animal to its owner or handler only upon payment of reward or other compensation;
(c) dispose of a trained animal in a manner that makes recovery of the trained animal by its owner or handler unlikely;
(d) injure a trained animal in a way that prevents the trained animal from performing the task for which it is used by its owner or handler; or
(e) interfere with the training of an animal that is intended to become a trained animal in a way that disrupts the ability of the animal to perform its intended training or other work.
(2) "Handler" means a person, other than an owner of a trained animal, who is responsible for the:
(a) management or day-to-day use of a trained animal; or
(b) training or development of an animal intended to function as a trained animal.
(3) "Search and rescue animal" means an animal that is trained or certified to locate a lost individual.
(4) "Service animal" means an animal that is trained to perform a task for an individual with a disability, including one or more of the following tasks:
(a) guiding an individual who is blind or visually impaired;
(b) alerting an individual who is deaf or hard of hearing;
(c) pulling a wheelchair;
(d) assisting an individual with mobility or balance;
(e) alerting and protecting an individual who is having a seizure;
(f) retrieving an object; or
(g) performing another similar task.
(5) "Trained animal" means a search and rescue animal, a service animal, or a working animal.
(6) "Working animal" means an animal that is trained to provide a service to its owner or handler that results in an economic gain or potential for an economic gain to its owner or handler, including a pack animal or an animal used in:
(a) a rodeo;
(b) an animal show, including an agility competition, sanctioned by a national, state, or local organization; or
(c) detection of a narcotic, explosive, or hazardous substance.
NEW SECTION. Section 3. Unlawful act -- damages for economic loss of certain animals. (1) A person may not knowingly, purposefully, or negligently, as those terms are defined in 45-2-101, deprive an owner or handler of a trained animal.
(2) An owner or handler injured by a violation of subsection (1) may bring a civil action in the county in which the injury occurred against the person causing the injury to recover any of the following as damages:
(a) the fair market value of the trained animal;
(b) a veterinary, medical, or boarding expense for the trained animal;
(c) a replacement, training, or retraining expense for the trained animal;
(d) a retraining expense for the owner or handler;
(e) a medical expense resulting from the bodily injury of the owner or handler; or
(f) lost wages or other income incurred by the owner or handler during a period when the owner or handler is without the services of the trained animal.
(3) An owner and a handler may not recover the same damages for the same deprivation of the same trained animal.
(4) A person awarded damages pursuant to this section must also be awarded the person's costs in bringing suit and any reasonable attorney fees incurred.
NEW SECTION. Section 4. Codification instruction. [Sections 1 through 3] are intended to be codified as an integral part of Title 27, chapter 1, part 2, and the provisions of Title 27, chapter 1, part 2, apply to [sections 1 through 3].
NEW SECTION. Section 5. Applicability. [This act] applies to an act that deprives an owner or handler of a trained animal, as those terms are defined in [section 2], occurring on or after October 1, 2007.
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