KC Pet Project sued for negligence in November fatal dog attack: Court records
A civil lawsuit recently filed in Jackson County court alleges KC Pet Project received a series of complaints about dogs terrorizing a south Kansas City neighborhood before a November dog attack killed a man and severely injured a woman.
The litigation comes as KC Pet Project lost its contract to run animal services for Kansas City on Thursday.
The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Holly Lane, a resident who attempted to stop the dogs from attacking Chris Culbertson, the man who had been bicycling in the 3200 block of East 80th Street when the attack occurred Nov. 2. The suit alleges “negligence” on the part of KC Pet Project, saying “KCPP failed to use ordinary care and breached its duty to Plaintiff and to the public.”
Lane was injured and Culbertson died a few days after the incident.
The dogs involved in the attack had allegedly threatened Lane and her husband in the past. KC Pet Project had previously received complaints about dangerous dogs on the block, according to both the lawsuit and The Star’s earlier reporting. In a Friday email, KC Pet Project denied that the dogs that prompted the increased patrolling were the ones involved in the November attack.
Holly Lane said in a text Friday, “I express sorrow and frustration over the incident involving Chris Culbertson and others, including myself.”
“Reflecting on how things could have been different with more resources or support is painful,” Lane wrote.
A KC Pet Project spokesperson said the organization hadn’t been served as of midday Friday.
Lane’s lawyers declined to comment. Lane seeks an unspecified amount in damages.
Neither the city nor the alleged dog owner, John Thibeaux, were named as defendants in the lawsuit, though Lane’s attorneys said in the lawsuit that Thibeaux housed a group of at least seven aggressive pit bulls at his property on East 80th Street near where Culbertson was attacked.
The lawsuit
The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in Jackson County Circuit Court, said KC Pet Project was negligent in responding to complaints about dogs that had roamed the Marlborough neighborhood where Culbertson was attacked.
The lawsuit also describes Lane, a resident of the neighborhood, attempting to help Culbertson as he was being attacked by the group of dogs.
Lane heard Culbertson’s cries for help and attempted to fend off the dogs with a golf club. Some of the dogs turned on her and bit her, causing severe injuries, the lawsuit said.
The attack lasted 23 minutes before police arrived. Culbertson died from his severe injuries four days later.
KC Pet Project previously received multiple complaints from residents of the neighborhood that various dogs had escaped their enclosures and had attacked or killed domestic animals in the area, the lawsuit alleges. Some residents “became afraid to leave their own homes out of fear for their own safety and for the safety of their children, especially while walking their children to the neighborhood bus stop.”
Lane and her husband said they had been threatened by dogs from Thibeaux’s property before, and Lane said she had to use a golf club and mace to defend herself.
From February 2023 on, monthly reports from the agency included the neighborhood where Culbertson was attacked as an emphasized area to patrol, the lawsuit stated and The Star previously reported. KC Pet Project says the dogs they were looking for were German Shepherds, while the lawsuit specifies pit bulls were causing issues in the neighborhood before the November pit bull attack.
On the night of the attack, per the lawsuit, two of the dogs escaped their enclosure and began following and nipping at Culbertson as he rode. He eventually fell off the bike, and the dogs began biting and attacking him as he screamed for help, the lawsuit said. Other dogs also escaped their enclosure and joined in the attack.
Lane heard the cries and ran outside to help. At one point she swung at the dogs using a golf club that she kept near her front door specifically for protection against the dogs that were attacking Culbertson. Some of them began to attack her, the lawsuit said.
Lane suffered severe physical, emotional and psychological injuries, her attorneys wrote in the lawsuit.
Culbertson suffered from more than 300 bites and needed more than 500 stitches before he developed an infection and died Nov. 6, the lawsuit said.
Jazzlyn Johnson, spokesperson for the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office, said Friday the case is still being investigated and reviewed.
Changes in animal control
The November dog attack prompted changes culminating in the city ending its animal control contract with KC Pet Project.
On Thursday night, the City Council unanimously voted to return animal services to city control. Several council members specifically mentioned the attack in their remarks in council committee discussions on March 6.
Melissa Patterson Hazley, who first introduced the resolution said that taking control of animal services was “something we have to do, especially with someone getting mauled by … dogs and killed. Like I can’t even justify not making a drastic change.”
The city managed municipal animal control until December 2020, when it started contracting with KC Pet Project to oversee the services. During its tenure, KC Pet Project was criticized for what people saw as lax enforcement of animal laws.
This story was originally published March 7, 2025 at 4:33 PM.
CORRECTION: This story has been updated to indicate that KC Pet Project said they had previously received warnings about dangerous dogs on the block, which they say were German Shepherds.
