Fargo Dog Bite Lawyer

One-Bite Rule

Fargo Cass County Animal Control (701-298-3111) handles animal control services for Fargo and Cass County, including bite reports, mandatory quarantine, and animal-related investigations. The animal control file creates the official record of the incident and may contain prior complaints about the same dog or address — in North Dakota, which has no civil dog bite statute, prior knowledge evidence is the threshold of every case.

North Dakota has no civil dog bite statute. Claims run on common-law grounds — primarily the one-bite rule requiring proof the owner knew or had reason to know the dog was dangerous before the attack. Fargo, as North Dakota's largest city, has a leash ordinance that provides a parallel negligence theory when prior knowledge evidence is absent or weak. A dog running at large in violation of Fargo's leash ordinance supports a negligence claim without requiring proof the owner knew the dog was dangerous.

North Dakota uses modified comparative fault with a 50% bar under NDCC 32-03.2-02. At exactly 50% plaintiff fault, recovery is barred entirely — stricter than the 51% threshold in states like New Hampshire and Wyoming. North Dakota's six-year statute of limitations under NDCC 28-01-16(5) is one of the most generous of any state, but prior knowledge evidence degrades on its own timeline regardless of the filing deadline.

Report a Fargo dog bite to Fargo Cass County Animal Control at (701) 298-3111. For bites in Bismarck, contact Bismarck Animal Control at (701) 223-1669; for Grand Forks, Grand Forks Animal Control at (701) 787-8155. Request all prior animal control records for the dog's address in writing immediately — prior complaints are the strongest scienter evidence in a North Dakota one-bite case. Talk to neighbors about the dog's prior behavior before the owner's insurer does. Fargo's leash ordinance provides a parallel negligence theory when scienter evidence is absent. Write down your account of what you were doing before the attack while it is fresh — North Dakota's 50% fault bar means that if pre-attack conduct is assessed at 50% or above, recovery is barred entirely.

Read the full statute breakdown: North Dakota Dog Bite Laws → · Typical payouts: North Dakota Settlement Amounts →