Jury awards nearly $1 million to victim of 2019 pit bull mauling in Santa Rosa

Sonoma County, Caltrans and two homeless people must pay nearly $1 million in damages to a Santa Rosa woman who was mauled by a pit bull near an encampment in 2019, a civil jury has ruled.

The $946,000 award is in response to the Nov. 10, 2019, attack that severely injured Carolyn Teel, 54, near a homeless encampment on Hoen Frontage Road near Montgomery High School.

Teel’s lawsuit claimed the attack occurred on Caltrans property overgrown with vegetation and that county animal control officials had failed to install signs advising of a dangerous dog in the area.

The dog that mauled her had been declared “potentially dangerous” after biting someone near the encampment in November 2018, according to the trial brief.

At least two more attacks occurred before Teel’s encounter with the dog.

Teel’s attorneys also said a Montgomery High School resource officer had advised Caltrans of dangerous dogs on the property. Vanessa Wedderburn, a spokesperson for Santa Rosa City Schools, verified Thursday school officials had been concerned about the dogs and encampment.

According to court records, $146,000 of the award was to compensate Teel for past and future economic losses, and $800,000 was for past and future non-economic losses, like physical pain and mental suffering.

“The jury rendered a very fair award,” said Teel’s attorney, Michael Green.

He added that Teel was happy with the verdict.

“She’s satisfied. It was a challenging case, a little bit outside the box,” Green said.

The award must still be approved by a judge. If the verdict holds, economic damages are to be divided between Sonoma County and Caltrans. The amounts each may pay have not been determined.

In a statement, Sonoma County Chief Deputy County Counsel Joshua Myers said the county is considering its legal options.

“Sonoma County appreciates the jury’s hard work on this case even though we disagree with the verdict,” he said.

Caltrans public information officer Jeff Weiss said Friday his agency had no comment.

Jurors concluded that most responsibility for the attack — about 60% — fell on the dog’s owners, Tory Allen and Michelle Gaitan, who were not named in the lawsuit.

Nevertheless, Green praised jurors for holding them accountable. He said it’s unlikely they’ll be able to pay, but stressed that Teel filed the lawsuit to promote public safety.

According to court documents, Teel was attacked while looking for a neighbor’s lost cat on unmarked property without fencing or signage behind the high school.

A pit bull named Bailey emerged from bushes and attacked Teel.

“Bailey viciously attacked Ms. Teel, biting her left leg and dragging her to the ground and then biting her multiple times on her left arm and hand,” according to a trial brief filed by the plaintiff.

The dog continued to bite Teel repeatedly before its owners intervened. By that point, Teel was bleeding heavily and “was in severe distress,” according to the document.

Teel spent three days in the hospital and still has limited usage of her left hand.

The dog’s owners allowed her to be euthanized.

The homeless encampment has since been removed, and the property is part of a 2-mile stretch known as the Southeast Greenway, which Caltrans may sell to Santa Rosa for a city park.

Caltrans argued it was not responsible for overgrown vegetation that concealed the homeless encampment. The agency also argued that the camp did not create a foreseeable risk of dog bites.

The county argued that it was the responsibility of a dog owner to place warning signs of a dangerous creature nearby.

“The county further contends that the existence of a sign on that day of the incident had nothing to do with the occurrence of the incident,” county attorneys wrote in a statement of the case.

Sonoma County Judge Chris Honigsberg in February disagreed with the county’s assessment.

“It is clear from the plain language of the statute that the (animal control) poundmaster shall post the sign,” the judge wrote. “Such is also required of the owner.”

Allen and Gaitan did not participate in the civil proceedings. Teel’s attorneys said their whereabouts are unknown.

Court records show they were charged in April 2020 and later pleaded no contest to one count each of allowing a vicious animal to harm.

You can reach Staff Writer Colin Atagi at colin.atagi@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @colin_atagi