Gayner v. Bacharach
We were on the eve of trial on a dog bite case defending legendary Grammy winning entertainer/composer Burt Bacharach. Plaintiff, a dog sitter, had been involved in an incident with Burt’s dog Alfie. Plaintiff suffered an amputation to his index finger and nerve damage. The Bacharachs were ready for trial as were our dog behavior and veterinarian experts when Plaintiff settled. The settlement was for 150k. Plaintiff had demanded 600k at mediation. Since dog bites are strict liability in California and the injury was not in question, we could have only limited the total damages based on comparative negligence, assumption of risk and extenuating circumstances. Alfie was having a seizure when the attack happened. Under the dog bite statute, it could not have been defensed so, it was a good result.