Dmitry Uryakin commented for LIA on the Supreme Court’s conclusions on the right of owners of dead animals to moral damage compensation
In 2019, Saransk resident Oleg Skorokhododov hit a dog belonging to Yulia Antipova to death at a pedestrian crossing. The district court recovered compensation for moral damage from the offender, but the cassation board cancelled this decision, stating that “compensation for moral damage caused by the death of a dog through the fault of another citizen is not provided for by the current legislation”. In its turn, the Supreme Court of Russia came to the conclusion that the death of animals can cause their owner not only property damage, but also moral suffering, and sent the case for retrial. As a result, the courts sided with Yulia Antipova and charged Oleg Skorokhodov with compensation for moral harm in the amount of RUB 5000.
Dmitry Uryakin, Senior Attorney at Maxima Legal, told the Legal Information Agency (LIA) that there are two polar positions in Russian court practice. The first one considers animals exclusively as a thing (property), the owner of which may suffer only property damage.
According to the second position, special rules apply to animals, including those prohibiting cruel and inhumane treatment. At the same time, people can become emotionally attached to animals and feel the need to communicate with them. In some cases, people cannot exist normally without them (for example, without a guide dog). Therefore, the death of an animal causes its owner moral suffering.
“In my opinion, the conclusions of the Supreme Court of Russia in the case of Yulia Antipova v Oleg Skorokhodov deserve unconditional support. The overwhelming majority of citizens do not treat animals as things. On the contrary, they are increasingly perceived as another member of the family who needs to be taken care of, fed on time and occasionally stroked. For the same reason, the death of an animal and the loss of a favourite phone or other property cannot be equated,” said Dmitry.
To read the full article (in Russian) please visit LIA website >>>