Sampson family hopes case result will send resounding message to thrill ride industry
Orlando, FL – Following the one-day trial of the Estate of Tyre Sampson vs “FunTimes”, the Austrian-based manufacturer of the FreeFall ride that once towered over Icon Park in Orlando, a jury has passed a $310 Million judgement against the defendants. The trial was argued by Michael Haggard and Kimberly Wald of The Haggard Law Firm, Michael Richardson of Hilliard Law, and attorney Ben Crump
The Haggard Law Firm, led by trial lawyers Kimberly Wald and Michael Haggard, along with co-counsel Charlie Flynn and Paul Basil, have obtained a $7.65 million settlement in a negligent security wrongful death case.
The Haggard Law Firm’s Todd Michaelsand Joshua Padron , along with co-counsel David Scheiner and Stratton Shiner of the David Smiley of the Scheiner Law Firm, recently secured a **$7.35 million settlement** in a negligent security wrongful death case in Palm Beach County, Florida. This settlement underscores the firm’s continued commitment to advocating for victims and their families in the face of unimaginable and preventable loss.
In a significant victory for victims of preventable crime, The Haggard Law Firm, led by Managing Partner Michael Haggard and partner Douglas McCarron, has successfully secured a $28.9 Million settlement in a catastrophic injury negligent security case stemming from a shooting incident involving a teenager. This case not only highlights the need for adequate security measures in residential complexes but also raises critical questions about the implications of recent tort reform in Florida.
The Haggard Law Firm, led by attorneys Michael Haggard and Adam Finkel, and with Osbourne & Francis as co-counsel, secured a significant victory in a negligent security wrongful death case that underscores the importance of proper security measures in residential properties. The firm obtained an $8 million settlement for the family of a 19-year-old who was gunned down due to negligent security at Highgate Apartments in Orange County, Florida.
The Haggard Law Firm is very proud to announce the promotion of trial attorneys Kimberly Wald and Adam Finkel to partner.
“Since each of their first moments with our law firm, Kim and Adam have individually shown their commitment, skill, and passion to fight for clients to the dominant standard The Haggard Law Firm expects. They have both delivered impressive results in a variety of case types while also assuming important leadership positions within the legal community locally and nationally.”
– Michael Haggard, Managing Partner, The Haggard Law Firm
On the morning of August 18, 2022, Dimithry Remarais mailed two stuffed animals to his daughters living in Kentucky. That evening, at around 10:30 p.m., while walking to his car parked within the Windward Vista Apartments in Lauderhill, Florida (Broward County), to go to work, he was confronted by armed men who carjacked him. They shot and killed him. Dimithry’s daughters received those stuffed animals after their father was murdered.
A property with a history of crime in the parking lots and noting that private security personnel never responded to the shooting, nor ever spoke with law enforcement, Mike Haggard and Adam Finkel of The Haggard Law Firm served a pre-suit demand for Excel Security Inc’s $6 Million policy limits. The trial lawyers argued that Excel shirked its duty as the retained private security company for the apartment complex. Haggard and Finkel said the security company’s failure to properly advise the property owners and managers regarding the breadth of security needed to reasonably protect residents from foreseeable crime, and the failure to be present at the time of the shooting and deter the criminals, contributed to this preventable tragedy. Excel agreed to pay its policy limits to settle the Estate’s claims against the security company.
Managing Partner Michael HaggardTrial lawyer Adam Finkel
After a pre-discovery settlement demand for $12 Million Dollars was not accepted by the apartment complex’s property owners, Haggard and Finkel dove into litigation. Receiving a treasure trove of emails detailing ownership and management’s knowledge that the security company did not adequately carry out their duties and crime was increasing in number and severity. A deposition of the property manager from the time of the incident solidified that Windward Vista failed to have reasonable security in place, and failed to reasonably secure the property from an ownership and management standpoint. As the property manager no longer worked for the defendants, The Haggard Law Firm was able to locate and speak with her. During her deposition she all but admitted that the security company should have been fired, but was not. In the months to follow, and using this key deposition, The Haggard Law Firm was able to begin building the foundation for trial and to pit the defendants against one another, all the while continuing to collect more discovery and engage with more present and former residents and guests that would serve as witnesses at trial.
The defense, on the other hand, maintained that the entire criminal incident was too quick to be deterrable, and even suggested that a syringe found on the evidence list suggested that Dimithry was either using or selling drugs. Appreciating the tremendous value of this case, and steadfast in its belief that Dimithry was an innocent man, The Haggard Law Firm served proposals for settlement to each property owner and manager, and made clear that the case would either be tried or settled in vast excess of these proposals. The defendants nevertheless rejected the proposals for settlement and continued into litigation.
Without the need for mediation, and with discovery, demands, and depositions continuing forward, the matter ultimately settled against the property owners and managers for $15 Million, equating to a total settlement of $21 Million Dollars.Three men have since been arrested for Dimithry’s murder due to the hard work of the Lauderhill Police Department.
On November 2022, 33 year-old Phillip McCrimmon Martin was staying with a friend at the Vista Haven Apartments in Sanford, Florida. Watching over the apartment while the resident was out on a short trip, Phillip and his friend largely kept to themselves. On November 22nd, Phillip was shot in the parking lot of the complex. As he struggled up the stairs towards the apartment, the shooter continued firing at him. Phillip died in the apartment.
The Haggard Law Firm’s Adam Finkel and Michael Haggard, co-counsel Kevin Edwards of Edwards Injury Law secured a $2 Million policy limit settlement for the family of a toddler who nearly drowned and a good samaritan who saved him.
