During the evening hours of February 26, 2017, Denis Duddy was inside his condo in a Boca Raton Florida high-rise condominium complex when someone broke in an attacked him. Through the litigation of this negligent security case, trial lawyers Pedro Echarte and Michael Haggard of The Haggard Law Firm, and co-counsel Michael J. Brevda learned that if proper security steps been taken at the complex, the attack could have been prevented.
The attacker was a young naked man, who was under the influence of LSD, who gained access to the condominium, proceeded to walk through the parking areas, lobby, and other common areas, until he gained access to Duddy’s unit. The assailant proceeded to bang on the door until he broke it down and attacked the Plaintiff. Duddy and assailant (who were previously unknown to each other) continued to fight until the assailant eventually calmed down. The assailant was arrested shortly thereafter by responding law enforcement personnel. Duddy suffered injuries to his neck and lower back resulting in two surgeries (including one fusion).
Image of the assailant from condominium (Defendant’s) security video
The primary defense in this matter was that there was no prior crime at the condominium and that the area in which it was located (South Boca Raton) was safe. However, the Haggard Law attorneys and co-counselor Brevda argued that the security guard on duty at the time of the incident (who was employed by Defendant D & D Professional Security) failed to timely detect the assailant and failed to properly respond to his presence at the condominium, which led to the Plaintiff’s attack. The case against D&D Professional Security settled for $825,000.
The Haggard Law Firm’s Michael Haggard and Christopher Marlowe have obtained a $1.75 Million settlement in a case where a father of two was killed by a county bus.
Eric Tenner was happily married to his wife Maria, with whom he had two young boys. On the morning of October 8, 2014, he headed out before work to get in his daily exercise on his bicycle. He was an avid and competitive cyclist, who was wearing all of the recommended safety equipment. Just south of the intersection of SW 124th Street and the US1 Busway in southwest Miami-Dade County, Mr. Tenner was struck from behind by a County bus driven by a Mr. Jose Sequeira. Mr. Tenner died several days later at Kendall Regional Hospital.
“He was an avid and competitive cyclist, who was wearing all of the recommended safety equipment.”
Mr. Sequeira, the bus driver, was arrested for leaving the scene of an accident involving serious bodily injury. The criminal charges were later dropped, as the State of Florida was unable to prove that Mr. Sequeira was aware he had struck a bicyclist.
Tenner with his young sons
Miguel Mora, the driver of the second bus that was behind Mr. Sequeira, pulled over and stopped to assist Mr. Tenner after the accident. He has been driving this particular route for years, and testified that bicyclists and pedestrians are a constant presence there. He acknowledged that bus drivers are specifically trained to expect the unexpected and that when he is driving, it is on “pins and needles” because as professional bus drivers, they are held to a higher standard. He further opined that “they’re constantly getting hit. There’s a lot of accidents on the Busway.”
Throughout the discovery phase, the county correctly identified signage indicating that the Busway was for use of emergency and transit vehicles only. At trial, the main contested issue would have been whether Mr. Sequeira should have reasonably anticipated, seen and reacted to a bicyclist such as Mr. Tenner on the busway at that time of the morning when the sun had not yet risen.
Though the parties were initially excused from the mediation requirement because the Estate would not have accepted the sovereign immunity limits voluntarily, as the case progressed, both sides began discussing whether a negotiated settlement reflecting the strengths and weaknesses of both sides could be obtained. Dr. Fred Raffa, an economist and expert witness on economic damages, gave his deposition on May 16, 2017. He had voluminous materials to review in order to render his opinion regarding the total economic loss of the Tenner Estate.
His review included tax returns from Mr. Tenner’s longstanding employment with one company, as well as the Tenner’s side work in the insurance field. Ultimately, it was determined that the Estate had suffered past and future economic losses in excess of $3,500,000. This number was not contested by a defense expert, and these damages do not include the pain and suffering claims of Maria or of either of their two surviving sons.
If a jury were to have agreed with the two eyewitnesses on board the buses, that Mr. Sequeira should have seen Mr. Tenner, as they did, from a great distance prior to the accident, a verdict would have greatly exceeded the negotiated settlement achieved at the voluntary mediation on June 14, 2017.
Miami Dade County agreed to a claims bill in the amount of $1,450,000 above the $300,000 cap payable pursuant to the sovereign immunity statute, and Governor Ron DeSantis ultimately signed H.B. 6513 into law on May 23, 2019.
The Haggard Law Firm’s Douglas McCarron has obtained a $1 Million settlement for a gunshot victim who was rendered a paraplegic.
It was September 1, 2016 when the victim in this case, 37-year-old Twyaun Jones, was relaxing outside of his Miami-Dade apartment home after a long day of work as a tire technician.
As he was walking back inside to his apartment, an individual came from behind and shot him.
A day earlier the victim had told a known drug dealer to stop conducting business on the property of the apartment complex. Attorney McCarron uncovered evidence (police reports & calls of service) highlighting that the property had a continuous problem with drugs. Multiple police reports described the apartment complex as a “high crime and drug-prone” property. The managers of the property did not provide an adequate amount of security to prevent a tragedy like this one from occurring.
Ken Jean and Bensen Cineas lived on Florida’s southwest coast. They were traveling to an immigration appointment in Miami with a friend late at night, before arriving at a relative’s apartment in North Miami around 3 am. On January 31, 2016, around 4 pm, the cousins were found dead in the front seat of a car. They were found shot in the back of the head, with bullet casings in the back of the car. It is believed that they were dead for approximately twelve hours. Their friend was nowhere to be found.
Haggard Law Firm’s Christopher Marlowe
The apartment complex owned by the defendant, RYAN 15401 6 AVE LLC, had 24-hour security, including a roving patrol. Attorney Marlowe learned during case discovery that the security booth was unmanned for the shift before, during and after the shooting occurred. Security guards testified that they had not been paid regularly for more than a year, and it was common for guards to skip their shifts. Additionally, when the front gate was without a guard, the protocol was to leave the gate open. The gate dedicated for resident use was always broken, so the property was often completely unsecured. No motive was determined for why the victims were shot, or definitively by who.
The Haggard Law Firm has litigated hundreds of negligent security cases for more than two decades obtaining more than $300 million in verdicts and settlements in these cases for our clients.
$1 Million Settlement in Case Involving Grandfather Who Drowned During Grandson’s Birthday party
Ocala, Fla – BG Ocala Ranch has agreed to pay $1 Million to the family of an Ocala man who drowned during his 5-year-old grandson’s birthday party.
The family of the 66-year-old victim says the death of their family patriarch was entirely preventable. Children were terrified as adult partygoers performed CPR to the grandfather after he was found floating in the luxury event space home’s resort-style pool.
An investigation conducted by the family’s legal team revealed that the BG Ocala Ranch never should have been offering to customers the property as an event space. The Haggard Law Firm’s Jason Brenner and attorney L. Edward McClellan of McClellan & Batsel, discovered:
the property was an unlicensed commercial operation conducting business on residential property. That including soliciting rentals for use of its water park
the two “lifeguards” the part organizer, the victim’s daughter, paid BG Ranch for were not lifeguards, they were the husband and daughter of the property’s representatives
the pool known as the “water park” was not up to code with problems that included no signage for diving, depth, safety makers, or ladders as required by Florida law. The pool’s water clarity was poor and should not have been open for use by anyone.
Haggard Law Firm trial lawyer Jason Brenner
Brenner says “the family hopes the settlement will result in businesses who operate public swimming pools to verify they are in compliance with all applicable building and safety codes. They also hope it stands as a warning to the public to make sure a swimming area has all safety measures in place before using it. The family doesn’t want another family to have to endure the lifelong loss they will suffer.”
For decades, The Haggard Law Firm has been fighting for justice on behalf of families who have lost a loved one to a drowning and victims of near drownings. Haggard Law has successfully advocated for improvements to standard pool equipment. Click to learn more
Ft. Lauderdale, Fla – Following a four-day trial, that included only two hours of deliberation, a Broward County jury has awarded $24.5 million to the family of a mother of four children who died due to avoidable complications during childbirth caused by a condition the medical team was aware of before the surgery.
Litigation and trial team including Haggard Law’s Todd Michaels on the left standing with Rodolfo Torres to his right.
On July 21, 2015 Lilia Torres arrived at Premiere Perinatal Associates for a scheduled C-section which was delayed until the 22nd. During the procedure, she suffered massive blood loss due to a condition, placenta previa, which had been diagnosed months earlier and was managed throughout the pregnancy. A hysterectomy was performed due to the massive blood loss.
The baby was delivered on July 22, but Lilia went into cardiac and pulmonary shock with severe hypoxia due to the blood loss. She was placed on a vent and began receiving blood cells and plasma. She returned to the operating room for exploratory surgery and passed away on July 22nd, 2015 resulting from the hemorrhagic shock and multi-organ failure.
Lilia Torres
She left behind her husband Rodolfo and four minor children, three girls and one boy. Lilia was the caretaker of her entire family.
The defendants in the case included: Adolfo Gonzalez-Garcia, M.D., Jerry Gilles, M.D., Jorge Gallo, M.D., Julio Coello, M.D., Kei Nakanishi, M.D., Phoenix Obstetrics Gynecology, Llc, Emcare, Inc., Premiere Perinatal Associates, P.A. and Envision Healthcare Corporation.
$2 Million Settlement in Negligent Security Case Involving Apartment Complex that Didn’t Remove Problem Resident Before He Stabbed Plaintiff 12 Times
Pompano Beach, FL – Patricia Norris never knew the danger she entered when she moved to the Palm Aire Gardens Apartments in late 2016. For nearly ten months the manager of the complex had received complaints from multiple young female residents that a resident named Charles Gipson was threatening, harassing, and stalking them. One resident even took out a restraining order against him. Despite the warnings, neither the Palm Aire Gardens Condominium Association nor property managers (First Service Residential Florida) took any steps to keep residents safe from Gipson.
Mothers of Victims to Discuss New Lawsuits Against Miami -Dade County School Board On Behalf of Teenagers Sexually Assaulted By Middle School Teacher
This is the first time these mothers have spoken out.
Miami, FL – A lawsuit was recently filed against the School Board of Miami-Dade County on behalf of a teenage female victim (Jane Doe) who was sexually assaulted by former Brownsville Middle School physical education teacher Wendell Nibbs.
Beginning in her 6th grade school year and continuing through the end of her 8th grade school year at Brownsville Middle (2013 through 2016), Nibbs sexually harassed, sexually assaulted and raped Jane Doe. The assaults and rape occurred on school premises. Nibbs also sent Jane Doe sexually explicit photographs of himself.
The mother of Jane Doe will be joined by the mother of Jan Doe at a press conference to be held Monday January 7, 2019 outside of the Miami-Dade County School Building in downtown Miami.
In 2016, while in 8th grade, Jan Doe was sexually harassed, assaulted and discriminated against (on the basis of her sexual orientation) by Nibbs on school property. Jan Doe’s lawsuit will be filed later this month.
Pedro Echarte of The Haggard Law Firm and Aaron A. Karger of the Law Offices of Aaron A. Karger represent the victims and say they will also file a third case against the School Board on behalf of another victim. The attorneys say the school and School Board were well aware of Nibbs’ inappropriate and illegal behavior, as well as the risk he posed to young female students, and did nothing about it. The attorneys believe there may be other victims, suffering in shame and silence.
Between 2004 and 2016, Nibbs had been accused by at least six different female middle school students of making inappropriate sexual comments, engaging in inappropriate physical contact of a sexual nature, and sending or showing them sexually explicit photographs. Despite these separate accusations Nibbs was permitted to remain at Brownsville Middle as a teacher.
PRESS CONFERENCE DETAILS
*The mothers of both victims are requesting that their faces and distinguishing marks do not appear on camera.
Date: Monday, January 7, 2019
Press Conference start: Noon
Location: Outside the Miami-Dade County School Board Building- Downtown, 1450 NE 2nd Ave, Miami, FL 33132
Mother of a 12 Year Old Murdered By a Convicted Sex Offender Says Owners/Managers of an Apartment Complex Could Have Prevented the Tragedy
Pensacola, FL – Shantara Hurry, the mother of 12-year-old Naomi Jones, who police say was murdered by convicted sex offender Robert Howard in 2017, is filing a negligent security lawsuit against those responsible for the apartment complex where her daughter was kidnapped.
Jones went missing from her apartment located at 1460 E. Johnson Avenue in Pensacola, Florida on May 31, 2017. The disappearance captivated and mobilized the community to find Naomi. Her remains were eventually found in an Escambia County creek on June 5. Two days later, Howard was arrested and charged with the kidnapping and murder. The 39-year-old convicted sex offender lived in the same complex as the 12-year-old girl and her family.
The lawsuit against the owners of that apartment complex, Aspen Village Acquisition, and the management company, Progressive Management of America, highlights that the two companies should have known or knew that they were allowing a convicted sex offender, Howard, to live in the complex. The lawsuit adds that apartment ownership and management “breached its duty of reasonable care by permitting an unregistered sex offender to reside upon the Premises, thus allowing the offender continual, unfettered access to young children and others upon whom persons with his predilections are known to prey.”
The Haggard Law Firm is representing Jones’ mother in the case. Trial lawyer Christopher Marlowe (email CLM@HaggardLawFirm.com) says for the family the press conference and lawsuit is about holding everyone accountable for this tragic loss and preventing it from happening again.
“Ms. Hurry wants to bring attention to this civil action (lawsuit) in hopes that it will motivate all apartment complex owners and managers to exercise actionable, logical and moral care by never allowing offenders to live in their property, giving them access to children,” says Marlowe.
Press/Media Conference Details
11 AM on Tuesday, December 18th, 2018
820 North 12th Avenue Pensacola FL 32501 (Law Office of Samuel Bearman)
Speaking: Shantara Hurry, Naomi Jones’ mother, Christopher Marlowe, The Haggard Law Firm, Trial Lawyer
