Man sues business owner after dog attack
By Staff Reports
Published in News on March 25, 2009 1:46 PM
A man mauled by a pit bull has sued a Wayne County business owner, saying he did not do enough to prevent the animal from attacking him.
Joseph Ingram has filed suit against George Robert "Bobby" Denning, alleging that the dog ran from a property managed by Denning into the plaintiff's yard, charged him, and bit him.
The civil filing also names other defendants, including Johnnie McKoy and as many as five "John Does" who owned a residence at 205 Denning Place in Dudley, according to the suit.
McKoy and the five "John Does" were as of March 19, 2007, the "owners, keepers and/or 'harborers" of the dog, the lawsuit alleges.
According to the lawsuit, McKoy and other homeowners constructed only a three-foot-tall fence on one side of the home to restrain the dog.
The suit alleges the dog had already attacked another person and had been designated a "dangerous dog," by Wayne County Animal Control for a previous incident.
The lawsuit says the dog bit Ingram's hand hard enough to break a bone and then bit him on the chest, resulting in "disfiguring lacerations requiring hospitalization and surgery."
Ingram did nothing to provoke the animal, the suit claims. It also says he suffered permanent scarring, medical expenses and loss of earnings. The lawsuit seeks $10,000 or more for each of the seven types of alleged impairments to Ingram.