Earlier this week, I presented in this space details about a jury trial in a case concerning a mailman and a dog. The letter carrier, Mary Jo Davis, had sued Charles and Karen Cheelsman after their dog, Lucky, allegedly attacked Davis as she attempted to deliver the mail in 2007. Davis subsequently needed knee surgery and was seeking $550,000 in damages.

So what happened in Baltimore County Circuit Court earlier this month?

(I’ll give you a minute in case you want to “refresh your recollection.”)

A jury deliberated for less than an hour before finding in favor of the defendants. Andre M. Forte, the Cheelsmans’ lawyer, said the jury looked at Lucky’s history of human interaction in determining whether the couple was negligent.

“The past history of my clients’ dog showed he was a lovable dog who never showed a propensity of vicious behavior,” Forte said, describing Lucky as a “big, huge goofball.”

Forte, who has handled other dog bite cases and spoken on the subject, said neighbors testified that the worst Lucky ever did was growl or snarl at them.

Mary Ann Ryan, Davis’ lawyer, said last week that no decision on an appeal had been made. (No notice of appeal was listed in the court record at lunchtime Friday.)

Ryan agreed with Forte that the jury was reluctant to find the Cheelsmans negligent based on Lucky’s history.

“Every dog gets one bite,” she said.

Davis is recovering from surgery unrelated to the alleged attack, Ryan added, but she will soon return to her mail route. That includes the Cheelsman house.