SAN FRANCISCO -- Two San Jose brothers who were mauled by a tiger at the San Francisco Zoo on Christmas Day have filed a lawsuit against the city, the zoo and its spokesman in federal court.

The details of the lawsuit filed by Kulbir and Amritpal Dhaliwal on Friday were not immediately available and their attorney, Mark Geragos, was unavailable for comment.

San Francisco City Attorney spokesman Matt Dorsey said he couldn't comment on the lawsuit because he hadn't seen it yet.

Dorsey said it's not a surprise that the Dhaliwal brothers filed suit because they filed a claim against the city of San Francisco on March 27 that was a precursor to a lawsuit. The city denied the claim May 8.

However, Dorsey said he's somewhat surprised that the suit was filed in federal court instead of state court, which may indicate that the basis for the suit is different than the basis for the claim.

The brothers' claim blamed city officials and the zoo for their injuries and also sought damages for defamation in the aftermath of the highly-publicized incident.

On Dec. 25, a Siberian tiger named Tatiana escaped her grotto at the zoo and fatally mauled 17-year-old Carlos Sousa Jr. of San Jose. She also seriously injured Amritpal Dhaliwal, 20, and Kulbir Dhaliwal, 24.

In denying the claim, the San Francisco City Attorney's office said in a letter it sent to the brothers that an investigation by the city "has revealed no indication of liability on the part of the city and county."

Sam Singer, the San Francisco Zoo's spokesman, said Wednesday that "there's absolutely no truth to any of the claims" against him, the city or the zoo.

Singer said, "We represented the zoo admirably and we provided factual information as best we knew it to the news media."

Sousa's family also is expected to file suit against the city and the zoo. The family's attorney, Michael Cardoza, couldn't immediately be reached for comment.

The family previously filed a claim against the city but the city denied the claim in June.

In a separate criminal matter, Alameda County Assistant District Attorney Ann Diem filed five felony counts against Amritpal Dhaliwal on May 20 alleging that he shoplifted electronic equipment and video games from Target stores in San Leandro, Hayward and Livermore between March 24 and March 27.

Diem said Wednesday that Amritpal Dhaliwal is scheduled to have a preliminary hearing in Superior Court in Hayward Thursday morning.

She said he hasn't yet had a preliminary examination date or a trial date set.

According to Diem, the charges against Amritpal Dhaliwal are three counts of commercial burglary and two counts of grand theft.