Grammy- and Oscar-winning singer/songwriter Burt Bacharach and his wife want a judge to dismiss a lawsuit by a man who alleges their dog attacked him while he was pet-sitting for the couple in 2016, saying the plaintiff assumed the risk when he agreed to be its caretaker.
Joel Gayner’s Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit against the 89-year- old composer and his wife, Jane, was filed March 27 and alleges strict liability, premises liability and negligence. He’s seeking unspecified damages.
Gayner, 73, says he agreed to look after the couple’s Portuguese Water Dog, Alfie — the same breed owned by former President Barack Obama when he was in the White House — at the Bacharachs’ Pacific Palisades home while they were in Europe. He says he did not receive any compensation.
But the Bacharachs argue in court papers filed Friday in favor of tossing Gayner’s case that the plaintiff knew what he was getting into when he took the job of looking after the couple’s pet.
“When plaintiff assumed and undertook the responsibility of caring for Alfie while the Bacharachs were in Europe, plaintiff also assumed the risk that Alfie may bite him,” according to the Bacharachs’ court papers. “The risk was inherent in plaintiff’s role as Alfie’s caretaker and negated the Bacharachs’ duty to protect him from harm.”
“Alfie” was named after the 1966 Michael Caine film and hit song of the same name according to the couple’s court papers.
Bacharach decided to dub his pet after the “Alfie” tune “because I think it’s a great song, one of the best I’ve ever written, and I thought this dog deserved a really great name,” according to the couple’s court papers.
The song “Alfie” was co-written by Hal David. Its recording by Dionne Warwick, the most prolific interpreter of Bacharach/David compositions was a Top 20 hit in the U.S. and Canada.
Gayner says that on the morning of July 1, 2016, he awoke to the sound of the dog choking and “losing control of its bowels,” and dislodged pieces of a yellow plastic bone that had gotten into the animal’s throat.
A short time later, Gayner approached the dog to comfort it and the canine “snapped at Gayner and mauled his left hand, as well as injuring his forearm,” his suit alleges.
Gayner was taken to a hospital, where doctors reattached the middle finger of his injured hand, according to the suit. His index finger on the same hand was “amputated” by the dog, and doctors had to use a skin graft from his groin to reattach missing portions of the digit, the suit states.
The plaintiff has permanent damage to both fingers and limited use of his left hand, according to his court papers.
The Bacharachs knew Alfie was a danger, but accepted no blame other than to say they were “so sorry,” the suit alleges.
But in their court papers, the Bacharachs say Gayner has known Alfie, who is now about 8 years old, since he was a puppy and still has feelings for the animal despite the bite.
“Despite the incident, plaintiff continues to love Alfie and plaintiff testified that he would not consider Alfie dangerous toward people he knows,” according to the Bacharachs’ court documents.
Gayner’s admissions “undermine the allegations he now brings against the Bacharachs, i.e., that they knew Alfie to be a dangerous dog and failed to warn plaintiff of dangerous propensities,” according to the Bacharachs’ court papers.
Gayner lived in an apartment in 2016 and Jane Bacharach allowed him to look after Alfie in the couple’s home, which has a large backyard and a pool, the Bacharachs’ court papers state.
Gayner has called Bacharach’s Oscar and Grammy awards in the couple’s home “extraordinary,” the Bacharachs’ court papers state.
Bacharach is considered by many in the music field as one of the most important composers of 20th-century popular music. Other songs co-written by Bacharach include “The Look of Love,” “This Guy’s in Love with You,” “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head” and “That’s What Friends Are For.”
A hearing on the Bacharachs’ dismissal motion is scheduled Feb. 28.
–City News Service