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SAN FRANCISCO (CBS 5/KCBS/BCN) ― Parents of the teenager killed when a tiger escaped at the San Francisco Zoo last Christmas took the city and zoo officials to court Tuesday.

The wrongful death suit, filed on behalf of Marilza and Carlos Sousa, parents of 17-year-old Carlos Sousa Jr., alleges the zoo and the city, as owners of Tatiana, the Siberian tiger that jumped over its enclosure and mauled Sousa and two of his friends, are liable for Sousa's death, according to their attorney Michael Cardoza.

The wrongful death suit also asks for a court injunction to ensure the zoo exhibits meet all of the minimum safety standards recommended by national accrediting agencies.

"We know that we've done in the tiger cage appears to have taken care of that issue," said the couple's attorney, Michael Cardoza. "But we don't know what else is going on in that zoo with the other animals."

The mote that surrounds the tiger grotto was dug out further after it came to light it was shorter than the height recommended to safely isolate large cats from the public.

San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera would not comment on the Sousa's suit because he had yet to see it.

The city and the San Francisco Zoological Society, a non-profit that runs the zoo, are named as defendants. They have until Dec. 27 to respond to the suit.

The Christmas Day 2007 attack occurred just as the zoo was closing for the day. The tiger was shot dead by police following the attack.

Sousa's friends, brothers Amritpal Dhaliwal, then 19, and Kulbir Dhaliwal, then 23, also of San Jose, were also seriously injured when the tiger leapt out of its grotto and attacked the three.

Cardoza said the tiger first went after one of the Dhaliwal brothers and then turned on Sousa, when Sousa tried to yell and wave the tiger off his friend. Sousa was fatally bitten in the head, Cardoza said.

Cardoza called Sousa's actions that day "heroic."

"When it comes to a life-and-death situation, which one of us wouldn't have turned on our heels and run," he said.

In addition to a claim of negligence, that suit claims the brothers' civil rights were violated when police seized their car and other property during the investigation that followed.

Police made an inquiry into whether the tiger may have been taunted before escaping, and whether drugs or alcohol may have been involved in the incident, but ultimately suspended the investigation without filing any charges against the brothers.

A toxicology report later released by the San Francisco medical examiner's office revealed traces of both alcohol and marijuana in Sousa's bloodstream at the time of his death.

The Dhaliwals' lawsuit also alleges Singer, who represented the zoo after the mauling, slandered and libeled the brothers to the media, a claim Singer has denied.

Cardoza claimed the zoo was "just trying to blame the victims in this case." He said this "misdirection" would still not remove the zoo from liability.

Matt Dorsey, a spokesman for the city attorney's office, said Tuesday morning his department had not yet seen the lawsuit.

"We haven't been served with the complaint, so it would be premature for us to comment on the specifics," Dorsey said.

He did add that as part of the city's lease and management agreement with the Zoological Society, "the zoo and its insurer are responsible to defend the city in this kind of litigation."

The zoo will be closed this year on Christmas Day in remembrance of the tragedy.

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