Pit Bull Breed Bans Resurface as Civil Liability Costs Mount

Municipalities across the United States are revisiting breed-specific legislation targeting pit bulls, even as legal experts and public health researchers question whether such ordinances reduce attacks or simply redirect liability exposure. According to The New York Times, the renewed push follows a series of high-profile pit bull attacks that produced both headlines and civil lawsuits against dog owners ^[1].

As of 2018, breed-specific legislation was in effect in 37 states and over 1,000 cities. The legal landscape has since shifted in both directions. In 2020, voters in Denver, Colorado, passed a ballot measure overturning the city's 31-year-old pit bull ban, and in 2023, Florida changed state law to bar breed-specific restrictions, which had the direct effect of invalidating Miami-Dade County's 34-year-old ban on the animals. Simultaneously, anti-BSL laws have been passed in 21 of the 50 state-level governments, prohibiting or restricting the ability of jurisdictions within those states to enact or enforce breed-specific legislation.

The civil liability stakes underlying this policy debate are substantial. U.S. insurers paid out $1.12 billion in dog-related injury claims in 2023, according to the Insurance Information Institute and State Farm, with the number of claims reaching 19,062, an increase of more than 8% from 2022 and a 110% increase over the past decade. Homeowners and renters insurance policies typically cover dog bite liability legal expenses up to the liability limits, generally $100,000 to $300,000, and some insurance companies will not insure homeowners who own certain breeds categorized as dangerous, such as pit bulls. The liability framework varies considerably by jurisdiction: in 29 states, dog owners are liable for injuries their pets cause, with limited exceptions, while in 17 states and the District of Columbia, liability is not automatically imposed but attacks may be classified as misdemeanors or, in extreme cases, as felonies.

Critics of breed-specific legislation argue that targeting a single breed does not address the underlying conduct. BSL is characterized by opponents as treating the result of a dog bite rather than the cause, which is the behavior of the owner. As one data point, Aragon, Spain, saw no change in dog bite numbers in the five years before and five years after BSL was enacted there. Researchers and advocates also note that owners who use dogs for illegal fighting or to protect criminal activity will simply switch to another breed if pit bulls are banned. Following a pit bull ban in Council Bluffs, Iowa, for example, Boxer and Labrador Retriever bites increased, as did overall dog bite incidents. Proponents counter that certain breeds do generate disproportionate injury claims, and that municipalities retain a legitimate interest in managing the associated public safety and financial risks.

For practitioners handling dog bite litigation, the regulatory patchwork creates material uncertainty on both the plaintiff and defense sides. Some municipalities allow pit bull ownership but impose significant insurance requirements: Des Moines, Iowa, for instance, requires pit bull owners to carry coverage of at least $100,000 for injuries or property damage caused by their dogs. The average cost per claim nationally rose 82.5% from 2014 to 2023, driven by increased medical costs and the growing size of settlements, judgments, and jury awards. Whether municipal ban or behavioral ordinance, the cost of inaction, according to The New York Times, falls most heavily on attack victims navigating an inconsistent legal framework ^[1].

References

[1] The New York Times. (2023, January 22). Cities Are Banning Pit Bulls. Here's Why Some Say That Won't Help. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/22/us/dog-ban-pit-bull-breed-legislation.html

[2] Insurance Information Institute. (2024, April 8). Triple-I: Dog-Related Injury Claim Payouts Hit $1.12 Billion in 2023. https://www.iii.org/press-release/triple-i-dog-related-injury-claim-payouts-hit-112-billion-in-2023-040824

[3] Insurance Information Institute. (2026, April 10). Spotlight on: Dog Bite Liability. https://www.iii.org/article/spotlight-on-dog-bite-liability

[4] Nolo. (2024, June 5). Legal Restrictions on Pit Bulls and Other Dog Breeds. https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/free-books/dog-book/chapter12-4.html

[5] Britannica ProCon. (2025). Should Breed-Specific Legislation ("Pit Bull Bans") Be Enacted? https://www.britannica.com/procon/pit-bull-bans-debate

[6] Wikipedia. (2025). Breed-Specific Legislation. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breed-specific_legislation