Judge sues neighbors over injuries she suffered in donkey attack
A Washington state judge has sued her neighbors over injuries she suffered in a donkey attack last year, alleging that they failed to warn her about a defective fence post and the animal’s “dangerous propensities.”
For a decade, King County Superior Court Judge Julie Spector walked her two golden retrievers regularly on a Carnation farm owned by Timothy and Mary Nelson, at their invitation, and fed carrots to their two donkeys and a horse, she says in the suit. But on Feb. 8, 2014, when Spector interrupted the carrot-feeding to listen to a voicemail on her cellphone, a donkey broke through a fence and attacked one of the judge’s dogs, reports the Seattle Times.
Spector intervened, punching the donkey on its muzzle and attempting to force open its jaws with her hands. It released the dog and attacked her, biting her hand and arm with such force that bones were shattered, the suit alleges. The donkey then bit her thigh, lifting her off the ground and shaking her like a rag doll, the suit says. “Her glasses and cellphone went flying and, at this point, she thought she was going to die.”
Instead, the judge grabbed and rock and beat the donkey’s muzzle until he let her go. She then crawled half a mile, dragging her injured right leg, to get help, the suit says.
Spector’s lawyer, Dan Mallove, says she and the neighbors tried to settle the case in mediation, to no avail. “The Nelsons are nice people and I think they’d like to see the case resolved but I think the problem is their insurance company,” Mallove told the Seattle Times.
A lawyer for the Nelsons did not respond to the newspaper’s request for comment.
Spector has returned to work, but her suit says she suffered permanent and disabling injuries.
See also:
ABAJournal.com: “Pet zebra mauls Arkansas judge”
Associated Press: “Arkansas judge mauled by zebra released from hospital”
Daily Citizen (sub. req.): “Judge needs more surgery”
