The long-expected suit was filed in federal rather than state court, and one attorney speculates that the reason was to get more suburbanites on the jury panel, on the theory that they will be less hostile to the plaintiffs than San Francisco residents. Federal theory? Well, “Kulbir Dhaliwal contends his federal civil rights were violated because he was deprived the use of his BMW M3, the car the three took to the zoo.”

The suit also accuses Sam Singer, a well-known crisis management spokesman whose firm was retained by the zoo after the attack, of libel and slander.

The Dhaliwals contend Singer and city officials engaged in a smear campaign to suggest the young men were disreputable and had taunted the tiger before the escape.

“There’s no merit to the lawsuit whatsoever,” Singer said. “More importantly, I’d like to remind people that [plaintiff’s lawyer Mark] Geragos was the one who said his client, Michael Jackson, was a perfectly normal human being and Scott Peterson was an innocent man. I leave it up to the judgment of the public as to how accurate he is on any of his claims.”

Watch out getting into a fight with a crisis management specialist, they have sharp tongues. (John Coté, “Tiger attack victims file suit in federal court”, San Francisco Chronicle, Nov. 13; more Chronicle coverage; earlier).

Filed under: animals, San Francisco