The Second District Court of Appeal has sided with a Dunedin man, finding he can proceed with a negligence suit against the Pinellas County sheriff after he was unintentionally attacked by a police K-9 during a public event.

The appellate court held that Pinellas County Circuit Judge Thomas Ramsberger erroneously dismissed Robert McKinley’s complaint against Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri as barred by sovereign immunity, according to the court’s opinion filed on Wednesday.