Louisiana Revised Statutes 46:1956 – Violation of rights; injury or interference with a service dog; penalties; civil action; damages; cost and attorney fees
Terms Used In Louisiana Revised Statutes 46:1956
- Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
- Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- person: includes a body of persons, whether incorporated or not. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 1:10
- Person with a disability: means a person who has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of such person's major life activities and who has a record of such impairment or who is regarded as having such an impairment, including military veterans with traumatic brain injury or post traumatic stress disorder. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 46:1952
- Service dog: means a dog who has been trained or is being trained to do work or perform a task for a person with a disability. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 46:1952
A. Any person, firm, or corporation, or the agent, representative, or employee of any person, firm, or corporation who withholds, denies, deprives, or attempts to withhold, deny, or deprive; intimidates, threatens, coerces, or attempts to threaten, intimidate, or coerce; punishes or attempts to punish a person with a disability or a trainer or puppy raiser of a service dog, during the training of such dog, or for exercising his right to be admitted to or enjoy the places and facilities provided in this Chapter; or otherwise interferes with the rights of a person with a disability under this Chapter shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and fined not less than one hundred dollars nor more than five hundred dollars or imprisoned for not more than six months, or both.
B. Any person who purposely or negligently injures a service dog or any owner of a dog who allows that dog to injure a service dog because he fails to control or leash the dog shall also be guilty of a misdemeanor and fined not less than one hundred dollars nor more than five hundred dollars or imprisoned for not more than six months, or both. Such person shall also be liable for any injuries to the service dog and, if necessary, the replacement and compensation for the loss of the service dog.
C. For every offense, such person shall pay for actual damages for any economic loss to any person aggrieved thereby, to be recovered in any court of competent jurisdiction in the parish where such offense was committed or where the aggrieved person resides.
D. In an action brought under this Section, the court may award costs and reasonable attorney’s fee to the prevailing party.
Acts 1993, No. 482, §1; Acts 2014, No. 492, §1; Acts 2014, No. 811, §24, eff. June 23, 2014.
NOTE: Acts 1993, No. 763, §1 amended prior La. Rev. Stat. 46:1952(A), (B), and (C), 1953(D), and 1954 and enacted La. Rev. Stat. 46:1953(E). Acts 1993, No. 482, §1 amended and reenacted the entire Chapter. The Chapter appears as in Act No. 482. The Louisiana State Law Institute printed the provisions of Act No. 763 as a note at the head of this Chapter.