Wine critic in £180,000 court fight with dogsitter after beloved cockapoo hit by car
Harry Eyres’ dog suffered serious spinal injuries in the incident
A top wine critic is suing a dogsitter after his beloved pet cockapoo was hit by a car while in her care.
The writer and renowned wine critic Harry Eyres is blaming Kendra Torgan for serious spinal injuries his dog, Ebony, suffered after being run over by an estate agent's car outside her home in Kensal Rise, London, in 2022.
Mr Eyres, 66, says he was forced to spend thousands on lifesaving spinal reconstruction surgery for the dog, who he regards as a "beloved member of his family".
He is now trying to recoup the cost from Ms Torgan, who he blames for allowing the cockapoo to escape from her garden and run into the road.
Mr Eyres is seeking up to £30,000 in damages at Central London County Court, and the case is also set to run up more than £150,000 in legal costs.
But Ms Torgan, a former actor who starred as a "beautiful female assassin" in the 1998 British crime thriller Killing Time, denies the accident was her fault and blames the dog.
Mr Eyres is a renowned wine critic who writes for publications including Country Life magazine. He is also an author and poet, and was formerly a theatre critic for The Times, wine editor for Harpers & Queen, and has written columns for the Financial Times and The Spectator.
Ms Torgan acted in a series of films before setting up her pet business, which offers dog walking, puppy training, whispering and behavioural therapy.
Mr Eyres’ lawyers say Ebony somehow “wandered into the road” while being looked after by Ms Torgan at her home on Ridley Road in Kensal Rise in October 2022, and was then struck by a car being driven by an employee of the estate agents Dexter's London Ltd.
The 66-year-old Etonian claims Ms Torgan “negligently failed to supervise the dog”, and also “failed to call the dog back once it left her side”.
The Dexter’s driver took Ebony and Ms Torgan to an emergency vets’ clinic, from where she was transferred to an animal hospital in Marlow for urgent treatment, court documents revealed.
Although Mr Eyres’ pet survived the accident, she was found to have suffered a fractured spine which required repeated reconstructive surgery, with metalwork and screws inserted to hold the broken bones together.
Mr Eyres, who is now suing the dogsitter for damages to cover the costs of Ebony’s treatment, says he was aghast when Ms Torgan allegedly wrote his lawyers an email suggesting "euthanasia" would be a cheaper option to surgery.
“In order to prevent the vertebrae from collapsing, a revision of the original spinal surgery needed to be performed on 30 March 2023, involving removal of the original implant and screws and their replacement with a new larger implant and 13 screws,” his lawyers say in the case papers.
“The dog's treatment remains ongoing.“
Mr Eyres’ insurers have confirmed that they will not pay for the treatment. He will say the dog was left with Ms Torgan and that she had a duty of care to Ebony.
"She had gone on to suggest that he could have his dog – prior to the incident healthy, and a beloved member of the family – euthanised rather than seeking treatment," they claim.
The wine critic is also suing the estate agents, but both Ms Torgan and Dexter's deny they are to blame for the accident.
Ms Torgan claims she should not be sued personally over the incident, but rather that Mr Eyres should take action against her company, despite it having been dissolved in 2023.
Summarising the case, Dexter's barrister Caitlin Corrigan explained: “Ms Torgan has not filed a defence but in correspondence has said that she should not be being sued as an individual, but rather her dissolved company."
She added that Ms Torgan is also claiming the accident was “unforeseeable”, as the dog took her by surprise when she suddenly wriggled out of her garden, having “forced the gate open herself”.
Outside court after a brief pre-trial hearing at Central London County Court last week, Ms Torgan said: “It was completely out of character as (Ebony) bolted out of the gate”.
For his part, the Dexter's driver insists he was driving with the utmost care and the company’s lawyers claim their driver had no chance to avoid hitting the dog, who shot out into the street, said their solicitor Elaine Everett.
“Dexter's will aver that (Ms Torgan) failed to control the dog in question, resulting in it suddenly running into the road.
“The driver was unable to safely stop the vehicle and swerving to avoid the dog would have been dangerous,” she added.
The legal fight reached court before Judge Daniel Bunting for a case management hearing during which lawyers argued over issues including the extent of the expert medical evidence to be heard.
Ms Torgan was present at court, but was not represented by lawyers.
The loser in the fight could face a bill of more than £180,000, with £30,000 damages being sought and Mr Eyres' costs being budgeted at £112,390, while those of Dexter's are budgeted at £40,337.
The case will return for a full trial at a later date.