I would think you’d be better off, getting on the phone and calling local attorneys. If this means so much to you.
FR legalzoom, not so much.
Consult a local lawyer. “Malicious prosecution and abuse of due process” is what we called it in the heartland back in the day.
Congratulations on the dismissal.
At some point you must forgive and let it go or your anger will harm you in the long run.
Yes - don't let your dog bite people.
I don’t know anything about Florida law. Under Federal law, you have to give the opposing party certain formal notices before you can trigger rule 11 sanctions; most states have similar provisions. You may well be too far down the road for that.
If they Dismissed without Prejudice (DWOP) they may be able to re-file. So you have to watch for that. Keep your evidence handy.
And finally, without a judgment in your favor, you are unlikely to recover costs.
But bottom line, you need the advice of a Florida litigator. Otherwise, you are going to get the value of what you pay for.
And buy a muzzle for the dog.
Not a lawyer, not a FL lawyer, but I have worked as a paralegal a fair amount.
You are asking “feasibility”. To attain that, you need an interested attorney who sees a good chance of a reward.
The steps to determine feasibility begin with you constructing “a narrative”. This would be a very digestible 1-2 (max) page timeline-based story of what happened. Omit extraneous details, but dates in the left margin are a plus. Ideally: 1 page. Notations as to what can be documented.
You bring (or email) this to an attorney, having told them that you have a tightly written narrative, and get yer free consult. Their opinion is what matters.
Offhand, I would imagine that it would be VERY hard to get any sort of compensation for your own effort. The other side making spurious or exaggerated claims is essentially meaningless. Your effort is largely meaningless. The voluntary dismissal is fairly meaningless. If you OTOH had to hire a private investigator at a few grand, that might be recoverable.
Again, offhand, I don’t see (from your brief encapsulation) anything that I have found, in my limited experience, to be something the court will issue an order to pay you on.
I am a lawyer in the heartland. If all it cost you was $1000, you won majorly. Let it go.
This is the fact—the defendant always loses. Always. Sounds to me as if you did pretty well—just out a lot if anguish and heartache. Hope your dog wasn’t one of those heavy bully breeds. Was your homeowners’ insurance any help?
consider the expenses a warning shot across your bow - be thankful an infant or young child wasn’t involved. Get a muzzle, a leash and cover your butt for next time by having the dog professionally trained to obey you. 1000 bucks over 4 yrs is a pimple on the ass of progress
Just sue them in small claims court for fraud and malicious prosecution. If they don’t show up you can get a default judgment and then if they don’t pay up you can put a lien on their house.
If the judge determines their case had no merit and was based on fraudulent allegations you could get treble damages up to the limits of the court jurisdiction. That’s usually about $10,000.
Where in Florida are you? I enjoy meeting fellow Floridians on here.
I have no suggestions re: seeking restitution. However I will advise that you make sure that local animal control and law enforcement know the case was dismissed. This should keep your dog from being labeled as aggressive which can lead to it being confiscated and even euthanized if there is ever another incident. Did your homeowner’s insurance pay any medical claims? If they did they may go after the guy who filed suit to reclaim the money the paid out.
You may be able to deduct some of those costs on your Taxes.
Call your Accountant.
Not a lawyer here, but if you only spent $1000 out of pocket on a case where your dog bit someone else—don’t rock the boat.
Even if it was in defense of you, this is not usually a winning thing.
Put all your evidence in a box, seal it, store it somewhere cool (not in your attic) and move on.
If some of it is electronic, make two copies either on thumb drives, or write to CD. I have had records on a hard drive become corrupted over the years.
Move on with your life. You won big time. In the overall picture, $1000 is chicken feed compared to the possible outcomes.
Any reasonable lawyer will want a retainer many times the amount you are out of pocket.
Shame that you had to go through legal trouble for it.