A Gainesville, Georgia, jury’s $5.6 million dog-bite verdict has spawned a new legal malpractice lawsuit, with the estate of the defendant arguing that his trial attorneys labored under a massive conflict of interest.
The estate administrator for Thomas Steusloff, who died before trial, filed suit in Hall County Superior Court on August 27, 2026, contending that attorney Chandelle Summer of the Summer Law Group and a team of lawyers from Bovis, Kyle, Burch & Medlin committed legal malpractice in their handling of the underlying litigation. The estate is represented by solo practitioner Michael Cummings.
At the heart of the malpractice claim is the allegation that the same legal team represented both Thomas Steusloff’s estate and his wife, Jean Steusloff, despite their divergent interests. “I think it’s a pretty good lesson for us all to realize that, just like a corporation, an estate is a person entitled to counsel.
Key Highlights
- $5.6 Million Verdict: Georgia jury awarded damages in a 2023 dog-bite case.
- Malpractice Lawsuit: Thomas Steusloff’s estate sued its former attorneys in August 2026.
- Conflict of Interest: Lawyers allegedly represented clients with competing interests.
- Fault Split: Jury assigned 75% liability to Thomas and 25% to Jean Steusloff.
- Appeals Court Ruling: The 2025 ruling upheld the verdict but required changes to the final judgment.
The Underlying Dog-Bite Case
The malpractice suit stems from a brutal March 24, 2022, dog attack at the Steusloff home. Stacy Finelli, a 53-year-old French teacher, stopped by to drop off misdelivered mail when Jean Steusloff invited her inside to see a bedroom renovation. A pit bull mix owned by the Steusloffs’ son, who had been living at the home, attacked Finelli without provocation.
The dog repeatedly bit Finelli on her arms and legs, “grabbing her arms and legs and shaking its head, tearing [her] legs and arms open in multiple places,” and bit her “on multiple parts of her body, including her face, neck, arms, hands, and legs,” according to the complaint. She was hospitalized for 10 days, out for three, and then back in for nine more due to complications. Her medical bills totaled more than $336,000.
A Hall County Superior Court jury awarded $5,620,159.99 in May 2023, apportioning 75% of the damages to Thomas Steusloff and 25% to Jean Steusloff. The jury found that Thomas Steusloff had cared for the dog when home and had warned a neighbor the animal was dangerous.
The verdict came after the insurer and defendant turned down a pretrial $1.4 million settlement offer, prompting plaintiffs’ attorneys to seek damages for a frivolous defense under OCGA § 9-11-68. Matt Cook of the Cook Law Group, one of the lead plaintiff attorneys, said it was the largest dog-bite verdict award in Hall County history.
Deaths During Litigation
Both Thomas Steusloff and the plaintiff’s husband, Anthony “Tony” Finelli, died during the pendency of the action. Thomas Steusloff passed away on August 28, 2022, before the case went to trial. In January 2023, the trial court granted a consent motion to substitute Jean Steusloff as the executor of Tom’s estate. William Michael Hinton later became the temporary administrator of Thomas Steusloff’s estate.
Appellate Ruling
In October 2025, the Georgia Court of Appeals affirmed the $5.6 million verdict but vacated the trial court’s order setting out the final judgment as joint and several. The appellate court remanded the case for the trial court to reissue its judgment to conform to the jury’s verdict apportioning fault, and to reconsider the plaintiffs’ motion for attorney fees in light of that conformance.
The administrator had argued that the failure to substitute a proper estate representative for Tom rendered the judgment against him void, while Jean Steusloff contended that the trial court made several errors, including denying her motion for directed verdict and improperly admitting the testimony of the dog’s veterinarian.
The Malpractice Allegations
The malpractice complaint argues that by representing both Thomas Steusloff’s estate and Jean Steusloff with the same legal team, the attorneys placed themselves in a position where their duties to one client conflicted with their duties to the other. The estate contends this dual representation deprived Thomas Steusloff’s estate of independent counsel who could have advocated solely for its interests—particularly given the jury’s apportionment of 75% of the fault to Thomas.
The named defendants include Chandelle Summer of the Summer Law Group and attorneys Charles Medlin, Christina Gulas, and Patrick Reames of Bovis, Kyle, Burch & Medlin. Gulas served as lead counsel for the Steusloffs, with Medlin and Reames also involved in the defense.
