Inset left: Melissa Phillips (Madison County Sheriff’s Office). Inset right: Mark Allen Partain (GoFundMe). Background: The yard where dogs who attacked Mark Alan Partain were kept (WAAY/YouTube).
The parents of a 2-year-old boy in Alabama who died after a dog attacked him while he was at a neighbor’s house in March have filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against the dog’s owners Melissa and Jeffrey Phillips.
Melissa Phillips turned herself into police at the Madison County Sheriff’s Office and was charged with death by a dangerous dog. Her husband faces the same charge.
A copy of the July 19 lawsuit obtained by Law&Crime on Monday alleges wrongful death and says that the child, Mark Allen Partain, was “attacked and bitten by the defendant’s dog” which they described as “vicious and dangerous” on March 1 in New Hope, Alabama. The parents claim that the Phillips family allows their dog to “roam free.”
The boy’s parents, Jason and Kayla Partain, allege that the Phillips did not properly confine their dog and that their conduct was wanton and negligent.
Police said when they responded to a call about a child being bit at a home on Christian Road in New Hope and arrived on the scene, according to local CBS affiliate WHNT, the child was already dead. A coroner confirmed the cause of death as fatal bite wounds.
Though the Partains’ lawsuit does not name the specific breed, WHNT reported in March that the dog was a husky. Investigators at the Madison County Sheriff’s Office said there were two dogs at neighbor’s home who were taken in by animal control due to their possible involvement in the fatal attack. A third dog believed to be associated with the attack on the boy was also found nearby. All three dogs were euthanized. One of the three dogs was also involved in a separate biting incident two months before Partain died.
Melissa and Jeffrey Phillips could not immediately be reached for comment on Monday.
In Alabama, Emily’s Law, which went into effect in 2018, makes it so that dog owners can be held liable for dogs that are considered dangerous.
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