Star Tribune
State Patrol can be sued over unprovoked K-9 attack
The Minnesota Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that an Owatonna car dealership employee can sue the State Patrol for injuries sustained in an unprovoked K-9 attack.
Cristina Berrier, who worked at the dealership that regularly services State Patrol vehicles, had sued after she was attacked on March 15, 2019 by Diesel, a K-9 service dog. Berrier alleged that she suffered serious and permanent injuries from the attack.
In a 4-2 decision, Justice Margaret H. Chutich wrote for the majority that the state was not immune from prosecution under Minnesota’s dog-bite statute.
“Because we conclude that the Legislature plainly, clearly, and unmistakably waived sovereign immunity for claims brought under the dog-bite statute, we hold that the State Patrol may be sued under that provision.” Chutich wrote.
A spokesperson for the State Patrol did not have immediate comment and said officials were reviewing the decision. Berrier’s attorneys did not immediately return a request for comment.
Berrier’s lawsuit was initially filed in Steele County District Court, where a judge denied a motion to dismiss by the State Patrol. But the Minnesota Court of Appeals ruled last year that the State Patrol could not be held liable under the statute, citing sovereign immunity — a legal doctrine which states that the government cannot be sued without its consent.
In overturning the Appeals Court Wednesday, the Supreme Court wrote that Minnesota’s Tort Claims Act established that the state can be held liable “under circumstances where the state, if a private person, would be liable to the claimant.”
Berrier alleged in her lawsuit that her injuries were “a direct and proximate result” of the State Patrol’s negligence.
While she did not cite Minnesota’s dog-bite statute, the Supreme Court did, saying it imposes “strict liability” on the owner of a dog if it attacks without provocation. It reads:
“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.”
Last year, Berrier’s attorney Grant Borgen told the Star Tribune that Berrier was seriously injured by Diesel, who Borgen said regularly hung out in the service bay area while the unnamed trooper brought his squad car in. Borgen said the trooper directed Berrier to put Diesel back in the squad car, and she followed his directive.
“She petted [Diesel] goodbye like she had done on occasions before that and the dog bit her,” Borgen said. “This dog was not trained to attack; it was a trained to detect narcotics.”
The bite on her hand required surgery to treat an infection, Borgen said.
Justice Karl C. Procaccini dissented from the majority opinion, citing the fact that the state’s dog-bite statute, “does not plainly, clearly, and unmistakably waive the State’s sovereign immunity.”
Chief Justice Natalie E. Hudson joined Procaccini in his dissent, while Justice Sarah E. Hennesy took no part in the decision.
Star Tribune staff writer Kim Hyatt contributed to this report.
Nonprofits — from small food shelves and theaters to massive health care organizations — make up about 14% of Minnesota’s workforce, according to state data. They employ about 370,000 workers, down from a record 391,000 employees in 2019.
Many of those organizations fill gaps in government services, whether it’s mental health help or food assistance, and are part of building the civic fabric of the state, Aanestad said.
“There’s something bigger at stake,” she said. “It impacts all of us.”
Propel Nonprofits in Minneapolis, which helps nonprofits with finances and loans, has seen an uptick in requests for working capital loans to help sustain operating expenses, CEO Henry Jiménez said. It’s essential state government, foundations and donors step up their support of nonprofits, he added.
“Everybody says Minnesota is the Land of 10,000 Lakes — and also 10,000 or so nonprofits,” Jiménez added. “This is what makes Minnesota a beautiful place to live. We should continue to invest in the nonprofit sector.”
In St. Paul, Neighborhood House is serving a record number of people this year at its free food markets and other programs. Food costs and other expenses continue to rise while the number of donations and volunteers lag, CEO Janet Gracia said. The organization will stave off layoffs or program cuts by dipping into its reserves.
LAFAYETTE, Wis. — About 25 children and adults were injured Wednesday when a wagon carrying them overturned at a western Wisconsin apple orchard.
The children, parents and chaperones were on a field trip to the orchard in Lafayette when one of two wagons being pulled by a tractor turned sideways and rolled over, Chippewa County Sheriff Travis Hakes told reporters. Hakes said the tractor was traveling at a low speed when the wagon rolled over while going downhill.
Three people suffered critical injuries, while injuries to five others were considered serious. Authorities didn’t say how many of the injured were children.
The elementary school-age children attend a school in Eau Claire. Lafayette is northeast of Eau Claire.
After about five minutes and several warnings that students participating in the protest would be suspended,, the protesters exited Northrop and Cunningham continued her speech. They later gathered outside on the mall afterwards to shout, “Cunningham, you will see, Palestine will be free.”
Cunningham recounted the story of Norman Borlaug, the U alumnus and agronomist whose research in wheat saved millions from starvation, and said she would prioritize keeping a college education affordable for students.
Cunningham actually took over presidential duties on July 1, replacing Interim President Jeff Ettinger. She oversees a budget of more than $4 billion to run the university’s five campuses, which enrolled more than 68,000 students and employed 27,000 people during the last academic year.
She was chosen for the job last winter over two other candidates: Laura Bloomberg, president of Cleveland State University and former dean of the U’s Humphrey School of Public Affairs, and James Holloway, provost and executive vice president for academic affairs at the University of New Mexico. She is the U’s second woman president, following Joan Gabel who held the office from 2019 to 2023.
Cunningham will be paid more than $1 million per year — about $975,000 in base pay and an additional $120,000 in retirement contributions. The compensation puts her in the top quarter of Big Ten university presidents.
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