St. Louis woman wins $225K in dog attack lawsuit

A city of St. Louis jury has awarded $225,000 to a 64-year-old Clayton woman injured in an April 2023 dog attack in the Tower Grove South neighborhood of St. Louis.

In a two-day trial, the jury deliberated for 45 minutes on July 1 before finding that defendant Ultimate Realty LLC, a property management company, was negligent in its maintenance of a backyard chain-link fence through which a male Mastiff escaped into the alley behind 4014 Tholozan Ave., biting plaintiff Jeanne Caruso in the left leg while she took out the trash. The dog was owned by another occupant of the building.

Plaintiff’s lawyer Robert Schmittgens said during discovery that “we found evidence of persistent maintenance issues with the backyard fence, dating back to at least July 2017,” with complaints by at least two separate tenants about its condition.

“We also found out that the management company actually documented the defective condition almost three years to the day before the attack,” he added, but “did nothing to fix it.”

Schmittgens further said that the management company — whose attorneys did not respond to a request for comment — “was under strict orders” from the property owner to not allow dogs but “tacitly permitted prior tenants to have animals at the home, in violation of the management agreement and the lease agreement.”

$225,000 jury verdict

Personal injury (dog bite)

Venue: City of St. Louis Circuit Court

Case Number/Date: 2322-CC09309/July 1, 2025

Caption: Jeanne Caruso v. Ultimate Realty, LLC

Plaintiff’s attorney: Robert Schmittgens; Schmittgens Injury Law Firm, St. Louis

Defendant’s attorneys: James Wilke and Daniel Wilke; Wilke & Wilke, St. Louis

Injuries alleged: leg, emotional, psychological

Injuries detail: The plaintiff was mauled by a pit bull, sustaining significant scaring on her lower left leg. Plaintiff also has significant trauma and anxiety as the result of the incident.

Judge: Circuit Judge Madeline Connolly

Insurance: State Farm (for defendant)