On Jan. 1, 2013, plaintiff Roger Smith, a movie set carpenter in his 50s, was a patron of Hank’s Bar, located in the Stillwell Hotel in downtown Los Angeles. He claimed that when he left the bar and walked outside, he was attacked by a pit bull on a leash that Teresa Duckworth had tied to a planter on a sidewalk in front of the hotel. Smith claimed to his face. Smith sued Duckworth and the owners of the hotel, Gill Family Properties L.P., Gill Family Properties LLC, Hank’s Bar, Still Well Hotel, and T.S. Gill (also know as, and doing business as, Telokjan Singh Gill). (T.S. Gill was the original owner of the hotel and bar complex. Gill Family Properties L.P. and Gill Family Properties LLC were both the current registered owners of the hotel.) Smith claimed that as he ordered a drink at the bar, Teresa Duckworth entered with her pit bull on a leash. He claimed that Duckworth then took the leash off of the pit bull and allowed it to wander around the bar for 30 minutes, during which the pit bull barked and snapped at the patrons, including him. According to Smith, Duckworth eventually left the bar with the pit bull and tied the dog to a planter owned by the hotel. Smith claimed that he left the bar soon after and that when he walked outside, the pit bull attacked him. Duckworth did not appear at trial. As a result, Smith could not allege strict liability, claiming that the complex should have had knowledge of any of the pit bull’s vicious propensities. However, Smith was able to make a premises liability claim, alleging that Gill Family Properties, LP, the owner of the Stillwell Hotel, allowed a dangerous condition to exist by allowing the pit bull to be tied to its planter. Defense counsel denied the pit bull ever entered the bar, and witnesses confirmed this. Counsel also contended that Smith was to blame for the attack by bending over to pet the pit bull on the sidewalk. Thus, defense counsel argued that the defendants were not negligent., Smith sustained a bite to his left cheek. He subsequently drove himself to a hospital, where he received 12 to 17 stitches. Smith claimed he suffered facial nerve damage due to the injury, resulting in numbness to his left cheek. He also claimed he suffered emotional distress, resulting in nightmares, and embarrassment from having the stitches in his face for a few months. Defense counsel disputed the extent of Smith’s damages.