Dunbar Township family sues neighbor over alleged dog bite
Two Dunbar Township families are again engaged in legal wrangling – only this time instead of fighting over zoning, the families are at odds over an alleged dog bite. Diane and Terry Kriss, owners of the historic Isaac Meason House, have filed suit against their neighbors, Joseph Cellurale Sr. and Marcie Sangston, claiming their dog bit Diane Kriss.
Cellurale and his relatives own a neighboring auto repair shop and nursery – and his family and the Krisses have been in and out of court over zoning issues for years.
The suit alleges that Diane Kriss was chasing her Labrador retriever, which had headed into Cellurale’s yard, when a chow dog chained up there bit her.
The bite was to Diane Kriss’ left arm and required 50 stitches to close, according to the suit. The filing indicated Diane Kriss was bit on April 16, 2008.
Attorney Simon John alleged in the suit that the Krisses’ dog broke its collar ran toward the chow. As Diane Kriss grabbed for her dog, the chow “grabbed her with its teeth in her left forearm and ripped open her left forearm,” John wrote.
The suit also named Coastal Pet Products as a defendant, alleging that the Ohio-based company made a faulty dog collar for the Krisses’ dog. The Fayette County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals also was named, when the Krisses alleged that the organization did nothing to investigate complaints about the chow dog.
Over the years, the Cellurales and the Krisses have been involved in zoning disputes. Last year, the matter culminated with Cellurale and his family members suing Fayette County generally and Commissioner Angela M. Zimmerlink specifically.
In their suit, members of the Cellurale family accused Zimmerlink of targeted enforcement on behalf of the Krisses. The suit alleged the Krisses asked Zimmerlink to target their businesses so that the Krisses could sell the Meason House for a higher price.
The couple still owns the house, which they unsuccessfully tried to sell for $750,000 on the Internet auction site, eBay, in 2003.
The Krisses were not named as defendants in that lawsuit, which was eventually settled. The county agreed to pay the Cellurale family $150,000.
The settlement involved no admissions of wrongdoing.