The wife of the late talk show host Morton Downey Jr. is being sued for $1 million by a handyman at her New York City apartment building for allegedly allowing her dog to run free and attack him.
“She didn’t even bother to say that she’s sorry,” said Wilfredo Hernandez in an interview with the New York Post.
Hernandez said the dog bit him outside Helen Downey’s penthouse apartment in October.
Downey, a real-estate agent to some of Manhattan’s wealthiest residents, told the newspaper that the dog who attacked Hernandez belonged to her daughter’s friend and that she didn’t even know the pet’s name.
Downey also said she didn’t think Hernandez was hurt. “He had a bruise,” she said. “There [were] no stitches, no nothing.”
The alleged attack happened Oct. 14 as Hernandez took the service elevator to Downey’s penthouse to collect trash. Hernandez said as soon as the door opened, a large, black dog charged and bit into his leg.
Hernandez said he had seen the dog “many times before” and that it had attacked a building resident two weeks earlier.
Downey said the only dog she owns is a Golden Retriever. “I have nothing to do with this,” she said. “They’re suing the wrong person.”