Supreme Court rejects appeal in S&R firing

Thursday, Oct. 7, 2004 | 8:28 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- The Nevada Supreme Court rejected on Wednesday the appeal of an animal handler who was fired from the "Siegfried & Roy" show.

Bryan LaVoie filed suit in March 2000, saying he was wrongfully dismissed for submitting a workers' compensation claim. The claim was related to an injury he suffered when he was knocked down by one of the tigers, he said.

The Supreme Court upheld District Judge Valorie Vega's granting of a pretrial summary judgment in favor of S&R Production Co. The court also upheld Vega's decision to award $51,368 in attorneys' fees to S&R Production Co.

LaVoie in his lawsuit also claimed he suffered extreme emotional distress from his unwarranted dismissal.

The court said LaVoie was an at-will employee who could be dismissed with or without cause.

"There is undisputed evidence demonstrating that LaVoie was disciplined several times for behaving in a manner endangering" other production company employees, the court said.

The court record indicated that LaVoie once stuck his hand in the mouth of a tiger in a demonstration for tourists, for example.

"After a thorough review of the record, we conclude that LaVoie failed to point to any evidence to demonstrate that S&R acted in an extreme or outrageous manner when terminating him or that he suffered from severe or extreme emotional distress as a result," the ruling said.