Dog attack trial begins

Just before sunrise on a June morning six years ago, Brian Pye arrived at a Las Vegas storage facility to retrieve his landscaping truck and begin his work day.

What happened next is at the center of a civil trial that began this week in District Judge David Wall's courtroom.

Pye's lawyers claim the one-time Olympic hopeful who operated his own landscaping business was attacked by two pit bulls upon opening the facility's electronic gate, causing him to fall and permanently injure his spine. They said he had no major medical problems before the incident, which already has resulted in 20 invasive surgical procedures.

"He was in top physical condition," attorney Robert Eglet told jurors Friday. "He was happy, and he was successful."

Eglet said Pye, now 51, needs at least 18 more surgeries, and the lawyer hinted that he will seek a multimillion-dollar verdict at the trial's conclusion.

Defense lawyers concede that one of the two pit bulls owned by Ronald and Vickey Robinson bit Pye on the leg on June 19, 2003, but they dispute just about every other aspect of his case. During opening statements Friday, they blamed Pye's medical condition on pre-existing problems and denied it was caused by a run-in with the Robinsons' pets.

Attorney Peter Mazzeo represents the Robinsons, managers of Storage at Summerlin who lived in an apartment at the 24-hour facility with their dogs, Turner and Hooch. Mazzeo asked jurors not to allow the "bad press about pit bulls" to cloud their judgment in the case.

"That would be unfair in your evaluation of the evidence," the lawyer said.

Eglet said another customer of the storage facility will testify that one of the pit bulls bit his leg on the morning of March 22, 2003.

Mazzeo said an animal control officer investigated the earlier incident and determined the dog was not dangerous. The lawyer described the Robinsons' pit bulls as "docile, affectionate dogs," and he said both bites left superficial wounds.

Eglet said Pye, who owned Bridon Landscaping at the time, arrived at the storage facility at 5:07 on the morning he was attacked and entered the code to open the electronic gate.

As Pye entered the facility, the lawyer said, he was charged by two pit bulls. During the attack, Eglet told the jury, Pye suffered a bite to his left calf and was pushed into the gate, causing it to open back up.

The lawyer said Pye then stumbled back out of the facility and fainted, causing his neck and back to slam into a curb.

Eglet said one of Pye's employees, Mike Marshall, witnessed the entire incident. Although a surveillance camera was pointed at the area, the lawyer said, the defendants have turned over no surveillance evidence.

Mazzeo said evidence will show that Marshall was not present the morning Pye was attacked. It also will show that only one of the Robinsons' dogs was outside that morning, the lawyer said.

Using computer animation and charts, Eglet showed jurors the "constellation of injuries" his client suffered and the surgical procedures that followed. He said Pye was undergoing another procedure Friday.

The lawyer said Pye, a runner, had a chance to become an Olympian in 1980, but the United States boycotted the games that year.

Before the 2003 dog attack, Pye could be found at the gym three to five mornings a week. Today, his neck is tilted, and he is permanently disabled.

"He will never work again," Eglet said.

Eglet said all of the plaintiff's treating physicians and experts attribute his neck and back injuries to the dog attack and subsequent fall.

The injuries left Pye in chronic pain, and a morphine pump was implanted in his abdomen in February 2008. Eglet said it must be replaced every five years, and Pye will need other procedures in the future to prevent him from becoming a quadriplegic.

Eglet said Pye has incurred $700,000 in medical bills, and his future medical treatment will cost about $3.7 million. The lawyer said Pye's lost earning capacity amounts to $3 million, and jurors will have the option of placing a dollar amount on his pain and suffering.

New York attorney Alan Kaminsky represents 1650 Crestdale Lane, the company that owns Storage at Summerlin, and Corstan, the company that manages it.

Kaminsky told jurors the trial will be long but simple. He said no one disputes that Pye was bitten by one of the Robinsons' dogs at the storage facility.

"What is also not in dispute is the dog should not have been loose," the lawyer said.

He also said no one disputes the seriousness of Pye's medical condition.

Kaminsky said that leaves one question for the jury: Do the dog bite and Pye's condition "have anything to do with each other?"

Evidence will show that Pye spent years doing manual labor as a landscaper and working out at the gym, the lawyer said. He said that, combined with a congenital condition, took a toll on Pye's body.

Kaminsky pointed out that Pye called his mother after the dog attack instead of seeking emergency treatment. When Pye went to his family physician later that morning, he complained of only the dog bite and did not mention a neck or back injury. The following day he returned to the gym.

About six weeks after the incident, Pye visited a chiropractor.

"This is the first time he tells anyone in the medical profession that his neck hurts," Kaminsky said. "He still doesn't complain about his back."

The lawyer also said Pye signed a release when he rented space from Storage at Summerlin, and the document said the facility's representatives "shall not be liable" for injury or death.

In addition, Kaminsky questioned the figures Eglet calculated for lost earnings. The lawyer said Pye had not filed a tax return for several years before filing his lawsuit.

Kaminsky and Mazzeo both accused Pye of telling inconsistent stories to doctors about the dog attack. Mazzeo also noted that Pye returned to work after the incident.

Eglet said Pye continued working until he closed his business in mid-2004, "but he didn't work in the same capacity." He also returned to the gym but could only lift light weights.

"He tried to keep his life going," the lawyer said.

Contact reporter Carri Geer Thevenot at cgeer@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-8135.