Cow Owner Compensated For Raging Bull Idaho Rancher Gets $2,818 For Wayward Heifer, Damage To Fence
As a heifer as “wild as a March hare” ran loose across the Cataldo landscape, its owner pursued compensation for the lost bovine in court Wednesday.
Though he couldn’t find a sympathetic ear out on the range, David Bradley found one in the halls of justice.
Judge Neil O. Walter ruled in a small claims case that bull owners Dave Daniel and Larry Stinson owe Bradley almost $2,900 for the lost cow and property damage.
Bradley described the Aug. 14 incident when the Limousin bull of Daniel’s and Stinson’s allegedly ripped out a fence to get to the 10-month-old Charolais heifer. The bull charged at Bradley and nudged the heifer toward the break in the fence, Bradley said.
The $1,500 heifer, Tara, is still wandering with Stinson’s herd of cattle.
Daniel, the director of the Kootenai County building department, seemed to get nowhere with his argument that he, Stinson and Bradley live in an open range district. Therefore, he argued, Bradley is responsible for fencing out unwanted livestock.
“Where does it say that because it’s open range your bull can break into his property and cause damage to the plaintiff,” Judge Walter asked Daniel. “I’m not persuaded.”
Stinson tried to argue that he originally built the fence, so Bradley could not sue him for damaging it.
“I don’t know if it makes any difference who built the fence,” Walter responded.
When Daniel later argued that the fence was not a lawful fence according to Idaho Code, Judge Walter raised an eyebrow toward Stinson and asked, “When you built the fence, wouldn’t you want it to be a lawful fence?”
Declaring that the preponderance of evidence favored Bradley, Walter awarded him $2,818 for the cost of the heifer and its lost potential for calving, the replaced fencing and court fees.
Bradley left the court room with a satisfied smile.
“It went just the way I’d hoped.”
As Stinson and Daniel, who carried a map of Kootenai County’s herd districts, left the courtroom, Bradley extended a hand and introduced himself.
“I’m sorry it came to this,” he said. “I would have rather talked to you on the phone.”
As the two proceeded to argue over whether Daniel should have helped round up the wayward cow, Daniel accused Bradley’s heifer of trespassing.
“I tried to catch the heifer and I couldn’t,” Stinson said. “She outran my horse. … It’s wilder than a March hare.”
Daniel and the Stinsons said the judgment against them was too high. Convinced their interpretation of the law is correct, they plan to appeal the ruling.
, DataTimes