Billionaire Nelson Peltz is being sued by a housemaid who claims she was terrorised by his rescue pitbull and had to fend it off with a hoover attachment.
Housekeeper Miledys Morejon is demanding $75,000 (£55,000) after she allegedly had to run and hide in a cupboard from aggressive shelter dog Houdini to avoid being bitten.
Ms Morejon claims the dog was dangerous and untrained and had repeatedly attacked her at the family’s $300 million Palm Beach, Florida, mansion in 2023.
In one alleged incident, Morejon claimed the animal ripped her clothing in an attempted attack.
In another, she claimed she fell to the ground attempting to escape the canine after he allegedly lunged at and attempted to attack her, according to the lawsuit.
But Peltz’s lawyers say a ‘Beware of the Dog’ sign at the house should absolve them of responsibility for the pet, and are asking the court to throw out the lawsuit in a summary judgement.
‘It is undisputed that plaintiff did not suffer from a dog bite by Mr Peltz’s dog nor was any physical contact made with Mr Peltz’s dog at the time of the subject incident,’ his lawyers wrote.
Lawyers for Ms Morejon say that she always entered the $300 million Palm Beach mansion by a service entrance, and never saw the sign.
Tycoon Peltz was given the animal by his daughter Nicola Peltz Beckham – Brooklyn Beckham’s wife
Houdini had been at the animal shelter Yogi’s House which the actress runs (Nicola pictured with Houdini)
Tycoon Peltz was given the animal by his daughter Nicola Peltz Beckham – Brooklyn Beckham’s wife – around three years ago from the animal shelter Yogi’s House which the actress runs.
In an Instagram post at the time wrote: ‘This video makes me want to cry. My dad adopted Houdini @itsyogishouse dog. This is their first night as a family.’
In her complaint, Morejon alleged Houdini ‘had a vicious nature, a vicious disposition, and/or had a propensity to attack and/or attempt attacks which was known or should have been known’ by the Peltzes.
The alleged attacks in November 2023 occurred ‘without any provocation, suddenly and without warning’.
She claims to have ‘sustained injury to her back, neck, and both of her knees, for which she has undergone multiple pain-management procedures’ as the defendants ‘failed to reasonably secure, train or supervise Houdini to prevent his attack’.
Morejon claims in the court papers that as a direct result of the alleged attacks and owner negligence, she suffered physical and mental pain and suffering, disability, physical impairment, disfigurement, and mental anguish, as well as loss of earnings and a loss of capacity for the enjoyment of life.
Lawyers for the housekeeper have asked for Nicola Peltz Beckham to give evidence, which lawyers for her tycoon father Peltz have refused, saying that she doesn’t know anything about the dispute.
The legal action was filed in May last year and in October last year Nelson Peltz’s lawyers offered to settle, but this was declined and so the lawsuit goes on.
Documents filed with Palm Beach County court reveal that the housekeeper did not speak directly to Peltz and his wife Claudia but took instructions from her manager at the agency M&M Security Inc whom employed her.
At her deposition on September 15 last year, Morejon was asked, ‘Did you know the people who lived at the house?’ She answered, ‘yes’, before the defense lawyer continued, ‘And would you talk to them?’ ‘No’, she responded.
‘So when you were working, would they direct you at all as to what to do, or was the direction coming from Charles ?’ She said: ‘Mr Charles would be the one to tell us what we had to do.’
‘So cleaning up after the dogs was part of your job responsibilities. If they were to go on the floor, you would clean it up; is that fair?’ asked the lawyer. She agreed: ‘Yes yes.’
Billionaire Nelson Peltz is locked in a legal dispute with a housekeeper who says that she was terrorised by his rescue pitbull
Her role included to ‘greet and pet him… and some of the girls would give him dog crackers, stuff like that.’
Peltz’s team have filed a motion to preclude ‘reference to wealth, net worth, income and/or financial status’ if the case comes to trial. They say: ‘The reason the courts are so adamant about this rule is that jurors have a tendency to favour the poor as against the rich and, if provoked by such inflammatory evidence, the jury is likely to apply the deep pocket theory of liability. ‘
They add that she was an independent contractor, which they have ‘no duty to protect’ from injuries on the property.
They also say she changed her story from the dog attacking her as she was walking towards the elevator to ‘a dog inside chased her, causing her to run away and fall.’
In response to their motion, Morejon’s lawyers argue that discovery hasn’t finished, vital witnesses like Nicola have yet to be deposed, and so the motion for summary judgement is ‘premature and substantively flawed’.
Peltz’s legal team have filed a motion to reduce any past and future medical expenses.
They’re arguing that she’s received treatment from her healthcare provider ‘in exchange for a promise of payment for the claimant’s medical expenses from any judgment or settlement of a personal injury or wrongful death action.’
They want a full breakdown of medical treatment to avoid ‘gross or undiscounted bill charges’.
These should include: ‘All in-patient, out-patient and emergency room records including but not limited to reports, charts, documents, microfilmed documents, radiology reports and radiology studies including ultrasounds, x-rays, MRI, and CT, pathology slides, bills for services (paid or unpaid), emergency room discharge instructions, correspondence, laser copies of photographs, psychological records, requests for records, and any and all other evidence relating to the examination, treatment care, diagnosis, physical and mental condition.’
Peltz previously sacked and then sued his daughter’s wedding planners. Nelson, who is reportedly worth $2 billion dollars, sued Nicole Braghin and Arianna Grijalba of Miami event planning firm Plan Design Events (PDE) over a $159,000 deposit for Nicola’s lavish nuptials to Beckham. The former Wendy’s chairman claimed the wedding planners, who only worked on the wedding for nine days had offered ‘no services of value’. The lawsuit and countersuit were settled in November 2023.
