Billionaire Dad Settles Lawsuit Over Pit Bull Attack

's wife has been spared a grilling by lawyers after her billionaire father Nelson Peltz quietly settled a lawsuit brought by a housekeeper who claimed she was viciously attacked by the family pit bull, the Daily Mail can reveal. 

Mileydis Morejon sued the 83-year-old tycoon alleging the dog, named Houdini, repeatedly set upon and injured her at their palatial $372 million home in Palm Beach, , in 2023.

According to the lawsuit, Morejon was once forced to fend off the animal using a dust stick and then hid in a room while, in another incident, the pooch tore at her pants.

The suit had been dragging on for 18 months since it was filed in December 2024 until a notice of settlement by Morejon's lawyers was filed with Palm Beach County Circuit Court in Florida on April 30.

Morejon had been seeking damages of over $75,000, although the terms of the settlement are confidential. The case was dismissed on May 5.

The billionaire businessman was given Houdini by his actress daughter three years ago from the animal shelter Yogi's House, which she co-founded.

In an emotional Instagram post at the time, Nicola wrote: 'This video makes me want to cry. My dad adopted Houdini @itsyogishouse dog. This is their first night as a family.'

Nicola, 31, had been dragged into the suit as a witness by Morejon and was due to take a video deposition, which was subsequently canceled.

Morejon claimed Nicola  had 'knowledge of the subject incident', although it's not clear if she was at the property or knew about it through her dad or mom Claudia, 71.

Court documents claimed the housekeeper was effectively barred from speaking to the Peltzes – and instead took all her instructions from her manager at M&M Security Inc, the agency that employed her.

Part of Morejon's job involved picking up Houdini's waste, with court docs describing her duties as 'cleaning up after him, and interacting and playing with him'.

At her deposition on September 15, last year, Morejon was asked: 'Did you know the people who lived at the house?'

'Yes,' she replied, before the defense lawyer continued: 'And would you talk to them?'

'No', she answered, explaining that she took her directions from the security company.

The attorney then asked: 'So cleaning up after the dogs was part of your job responsibilities. If they were to go on the floor, you would clean it up; is that fair?'

'Yes, yes,' she responded. 

Meanwhile, financial investor Peltz was determined to conceal his huge wealth during proceedings to avoid any prejudice against him from a jury, which he claimed could be biased against 'the rich' in favor of 'the poor'. 

In court filings, his lawyers referred to this legal concept known as 'deep pocket liability.'

The motion filed by his legal team stated: 'The reason the courts are so adamant about this rule is that jurors have a tendency to favor the poor as against the rich and, if provoked by such inflammatory evidence, the jury is likely to apply the deep pocket theory of liability.' 

Peltz's lawyers also filed a motion for summary judgment against Morejon claiming that a 'Beware of the Dog' sign at the property entrance absolved them of any responsibility.

Plus, as she was an independent contractor, they have 'no duty to protect' from injuries on the property.

They also say that she changed her story from the dog attacking her while she was walking towards the elevator to 'a dog inside chased her, causing her to run away and fall.'

In response to their motion, Morejon says she used the service entrance, not the main door where the 'Beware of the Dog' sign was situated.

Her lawyers argued that discovery hadn't finished, vital witnesses like Nicola had yet to be deposed, so the motion for summary judgement was 'premature and substantively flawed'. The judge had yet to decide on this before the case was settled.

In her complaint, Morejon reckoned that Houdini 'had a vicious nature, a vicious disposition, and/or had a propensity to attack and/or attempt attacks which was known or should have been known' by the Peltzes.

The alleged attacks occurred 'without any provocation, suddenly and without warning'.

She claims to have 'sustained injury to her back, neck, and both of her knees, for which she has undergone multiple pain-management procedures' as the defendants 'failed to reasonably secure, train or supervise Houdini to prevent his attack'.

Peltz's legal team were determined to minimize costs. They wanted a full breakdown of medical treatment to avoid 'gross or undiscounted bill charges' and asked for Morejon to disclose all her medical providers.