Grammy-winning singer Ne-Yo is the latest celebrity to face a courtroom battle stemming from an alleged dog attack, after a delivery worker filed suit accusing him of failing to control a pet with a known history of aggression.
The plaintiff, Dominique Bridgett, alleges she was bitten on the leg by a dog belonging to the singer, legally named Shaffer Chimere Smith, on July 12, 2025, while delivering a package to his home in Alpharetta, an affluent suburb north of Atlanta.
According to the seven-page complaint, obtained by Rolling Stone, the dog “suddenly and without warning, viciously attacked” as Bridgett lawfully approached the property. Her attorneys write that the animal “mauled” her, “causing severe bodily injury, pain, shock, and distress.”
Central to the case is the claim that this was not an isolated incident of bad behavior. Bridgett’s lawyers argue the dog was left unrestrained despite having previously shown “aggressive behavior toward people.”
Under Georgia’s so-called “one-bite rule,” a dog owner can typically only be held liable if they knew, or should have known, about their animal’s dangerous tendencies, meaning that prior-history allegation will likely be pivotal to the case.
Bridgett insists she did nothing to provoke the attack. She says the toll has been significant: she has already paid more than $9,000 in medical bills, and the injuries she describes “may be permanent in nature.”
Her suit, filed in Fulton County Court in late June, seeks an unspecified additional sum in damages to cover ongoing pain, suffering, and what her filing describes as diminished enjoyment of life.
Ne-Yo’s camp has not commented on the matter as of publication time. No court has yet ruled on the allegations, which remain unproven.
Also a Los Angeles jury had previously found singer Chris Brown liable for negligence in a separate dog-attack case, awarding nearly $13 million to Maria Avila, a former housekeeper who claimed Brown’s 200-pound guard dog mauled her outside his Tarzana, California home in 2020.
Brown’s case involved markedly more severe injuries, with Avila’s attorneys alleging the dog tore away “large chunks of her skin” and left her with permanent facial disfigurement and vision loss, a stark contrast to Bridgett’s single-bite claim.
Brown is reportedly seeking a new trial, while Avila has moved to collect against his current concert earnings.
Legal observers say the Brown verdict, while far more extreme in scope, could still cast a shadow over the Ne-Yo case as it winds through the courts, a reminder that in dog-bite litigation, a defendant’s prior knowledge of an animal’s temperament can carry a very real price tag.
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW
Ne-Yo is being sued for negligence after his dog allegedly bit a delivery worker at his Georgia home in July 2025 .
