A New Haven attorney says a discovery tool is behind a six-figure settlement for the family of a toddler attacked by a pit bull in the family's backyard.

Edward McManus, of the McManus Law Firm, used a request for admissions in the case on behalf of Zachary Pineau, who was 2 years old at the time of the attack, and who will collect the $200,000 settlement when he turns 18.

The device allowed the attorney to send a list of statements or allegations to the defense, which the opposing side had to admit or deny under oath.

"Request for admissions puts the defense on the spot right away," McManus said. "It makes our case stronger. We want to lock them down, and this is a tool to do that."

The strategy forced defendants Katrina and Brendan Snow to make several admissions that benefited the plaintiffs. For instance, it required them to admit that the family had purchased the dog from an individual who was not a licensed breeder. It also uncovered that the defendants had never warned neighbors about the dog, despite a prior attack on another child, and had failed to inspect their chain-link fence. It showed that the dog had escaped through a weak portion of the fence.

The case was resolved Feb. 6.

Pineau was playing in his backyard in Milford in October 2014. His father was nearby, using a  grill, when a 95-pound pit bull named Harvey escaped from a neighboring yard and attacked the boy's face, according to McManus and a December 2015 lawsuit filed in New Haven Superior Court.

"The dog … knocked the boy down," McManus said. "He bit his face."

The boy has three permanent scars on his face and might need plastic surgery, McManus said.

The dog was quarantined for two weeks following the attack. McManus said the town's animal-control officer ordered the dog's owners to muzzle the animal every time it left the house and to build a stockade fence around their property.

Defense attorney, Grayson Holmes of Ouellette, Deganis, Gallagher & Grippe, did not respond to a request for comment.

In court filings, though, the previous defense counsel, Jesalyn Cole of the Law Offices of Meehan, Roberts, Turret & Rosenbaum, blamed the boy for the injuries. The filings claimed Pineau "annoyed, antagonized and/or irritated the dog"—assertions McManus denied.

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