10-19-2011, 02:37 PM
This week, the Georgia Supreme Court agreed to take up a grisly case that may be of interest to exurban land developers, hinterlands business owners and anyone else who dwells in what is known as the "wildland urban interface"; that is, the place where nature and development meet.
In October 2007, 83-year-old Gwyneth Williams was house-sitting for her daughter and son-in-law in their Savannah-area suburb while the couple were in Europe.
Neighbors found Williams floating dead in one of the many lagoons that dot the swampy coastal development, known as The Landings. A medical examiner determined that an alligator had bitten off Williams' forearms, her hands and her right foot. A trapper eventually found an 8-foot alligator, killed it and found Williams' body parts inside the creature's stomach.
The family sued the subdivision's homeowners association, arguing that it should have done a better job ensuring the safety of visitors to a place where alligators are common.
A key issue the Georgia court will address is whether the homeowners' association should be shielded from the lawsuit under a doctrine known as "animals ferae naturae."
A "ferae naturae" animal is a wild one, as opposed to a domesticated one. Walter W. Ballew III, the attorney for the homeowners' association, cited a Texas appellate court decision in arguing that the doctrine means that a "landowner cannot be liable for the acts of animals ferae naturae, that is indigenous wild animals, occurring on his or her property unless the landowner has actually reduced the wild animals to possession or control, or introduced a non-indigenous animal to the area."
*BURP*
![[Image: 6a00d8341c630a53ef0153926d6e17970b-600wi]](http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/.a/6a00d8341c630a53ef0153926d6e17970b-600wi)
In October 2007, 83-year-old Gwyneth Williams was house-sitting for her daughter and son-in-law in their Savannah-area suburb while the couple were in Europe.
Neighbors found Williams floating dead in one of the many lagoons that dot the swampy coastal development, known as The Landings. A medical examiner determined that an alligator had bitten off Williams' forearms, her hands and her right foot. A trapper eventually found an 8-foot alligator, killed it and found Williams' body parts inside the creature's stomach.
The family sued the subdivision's homeowners association, arguing that it should have done a better job ensuring the safety of visitors to a place where alligators are common.
A key issue the Georgia court will address is whether the homeowners' association should be shielded from the lawsuit under a doctrine known as "animals ferae naturae."
A "ferae naturae" animal is a wild one, as opposed to a domesticated one. Walter W. Ballew III, the attorney for the homeowners' association, cited a Texas appellate court decision in arguing that the doctrine means that a "landowner cannot be liable for the acts of animals ferae naturae, that is indigenous wild animals, occurring on his or her property unless the landowner has actually reduced the wild animals to possession or control, or introduced a non-indigenous animal to the area."
*BURP*