330 Alhambra Circle

Coral Gables, FL 33134

633 S. Andrews Avenue Suite 400
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301

(305) 446-5700

(954) 323-4400

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$2.3 Million Result in Mobile Home Fire Death Case

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Jacksonville, FL –  The lack of required smoke detectors in a mobile home was the primary reason 5 year old Caydon Anderson will never see his beloved father Jemarr again. On May 18, 2015, 26-year-old Jemarr Anderson was asleep in a mobile home at 7582 Sonia Drive in Jacksonville when a fire broke out.  The young father died of smoke inhalation in the fire that scorched the home.

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Finding Value in Mediation

The Daily Business Review recently published a guest article written by The Haggard Law Firm’s Christopher Marlowe on mediation. Marlowe’s article, Reassess Expectations: Finding Value in Mediation was included as part of DBR’s special section on arbitration and mediation published November 16th, 2016.

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The full article:  Reassess Expectations: Finding Value in Mediation By Christopher Marlowe

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VIDEO: Apartment Complex Safety

 

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The Haggard Law Firm is thrilled to support Generation Nexxt with a second season of our Haggard Helping Hands segment. These segments will appear throughout the youth football season on NBC 6 in South Florida during the Generation Nexxt program which airs at noon.

 

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DBR Highlights $10.1 Million Haggard Law Negligent Security Result

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Today’s issue of the Daily Business Review takes an in-depth look at the recent $10.1 million settlement result in a negligent security case litigated by our Pedro Echarte.

Here is the full text of the article authored by Celia Ampel:

Bryan Perez was just 22 when he was shot and paralyzed while trying to protect his sister, mother and pregnant girlfriend from home invaders.

The 2014 shooting left him in a wheelchair, making it difficult for him to work and to go out alone with his baby.

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Michael Haggard Receives Lifetime Achievment Honor

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The Haggard Law Firm’s Managing Partner Michael Haggard has been selected as a Lifetime Achievement honoree among America’s Top 100 Attorneys®.

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Selection to America’s Top 100 Attorneys® is by invitation only and is comprised of the nation’s most exceptional attorneys whose accomplishments merit a lifetime achievement recognition. Lifetime Achievement recognition among America’s Top 100 Attorneys® is meant to identify and promote the most outstanding and impactful legal talent currently serving throughout the nation. Only 100 attorneys in each state* will receive this honor and be selected for Lifetime Achievement Membership among America’s Top 100 Attorneys®. Selection is not achieved based on a single accomplishment or a single great year of success, but rather on a lifetime of hard work, ethical standards, and community enriching accomplishments that are inspiring among the legal profession. This honor is not given every year, or every 10 years; it is given but once-in-a-lifetime. To help ensure that all attorneys selected for membership meet the very high standards expected for selection, candidates for lifetime membership are carefully screened through third-party research and statistical analysis based on a broad array of criteria, including the candidate’s professional experience, lifetime achievements, significant case results, peer reputation, and community impact . While selection for any award, honor, or exclusive membership organization is always subjective in nature, we developed our comprehensive multi-phase selection process in an effort to help ensure that only the attorneys whose lifetime achievements extol the legal profession are chosen. With these extremely high standards for selection to America’s Top 100 Attorneys®, less than one-half percent (0.5%) of active attorneys in the United States will receive this honor — truly the most exclusive and elite level of attorneys in the community.

$10.1 Million Settlement in Negligent Security Case Involving Father Paralyzed in Shooting

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$10.1 Million Settlement in Negligent Security Case Brought by 22 year old Father Paralyzed in Shooting

Miami, FL – The homeowners association, property manager, and other related entities at a Miami townhome community have agreed to pay more than $10 million dollars to 22-year-old Bryan Perez and his infant son to settle a negligent security lawsuit.

On August 18th 2014, in an attempted armed home invasion robbery, Perez was shot 6 times in his family’s rental unit at the Carmel Lakes townhome community, which is located at 20761 NE 4th Place Miami, Florida 33179.  As a result of the crime, Perez was rendered an incomplete paraplegic. Perez had recently moved to the complex with his family and was unaware of its history of crime, which consisted of numerous burglaries and armed robberies. The Haggard Law Firm’s Pedro Echarte who litigated the case says “the community’s security measures were entirely inadequate to protect its residents and tenants.”

On the night of the incident, Perez was on his porch with a friend when three gunmen approached and asked for a safe that was in the home.  Perez and his family were the victims of a burglary at the same unit a few months before the subject shooting, had purchased a safe to store their valuables as a result, and the box for that safe was on the porch at the time of the shooting.  While demanding Perez and his guest enter the home, Perez attempted to close a sliding glass door in an effort to protect his family, including his then-pregnant girlfriend, mother, and little sister who were all inside the home at the time of the incident.  The gunmen proceeded to start shooting through the glass door, hitting Perez multiple times.

Echarte says the evidence against those responsible for needed security at Carmel Lakes was overwhelming, including:

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Register for Negligent Security Litigation Webinar

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On Thursday, October 20th The Haggard Law Firm’s Todd Michaels will present a webinar on litigating negligent security cases. Haggard Law  specializes in prosecuting wrongful death and catastrophic injury negligent security cases. During the webinar titled Trying A Negligent Security Case: A Plaintiff Lawyers Guide To Destroying The Premises And Staying Out Of The Weeds,  Michaels will provide a guide for other Plaintiff’s attorneys in how to successfully prosecute these important cases.  Continue reading “Register for Negligent Security Litigation Webinar”

Are Wal-Mart’s Safe? The World’s No. 1 Retailer’s Negligent Security Problems

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The Daily Business Review recently published an article authored by The Haggard Law Firm’s Christopher Marlowe regarding the rampant security issues at Wal-Mart stores across the country.

In the article, Marlowe discusses how Wal-Mart is well aware of the frequent crime that takes place on properties across the country. The Haggard Law attorney litigated a case against the world’s number 1 retailer where a woman was kidnapped from a Wal-Mart parking lot and brutally raped in her kidnapper’s vehicle over several hours and miles of driving.

The text of the article as it appears in the Daily Business Review:

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McCarron to Present Negligent Security Gameplan During National Conference Today

 

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Later today,  The Haggard Law Firm’s Douglas McCarron will  lead a presentation during The 2016 National Crime Victim Bar Association’s National Conference  in Philadelphia. The Conference is currently underway in conjunction with the National Center for Victims of Crime’s 2016 National Training Institute.

McCarron’s presentation,  Negligent Security Case Gameplan: “Blocking & Tackling Fundamentals Mixed with Razzle Dazzle”, his highly demonstrative , interactive and will highlight what every Victim’s lawyers must know presenting their Negligent Security case.

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NEGLIGENT SECURITY CASE RESULT: $1.8 Million to Family of Murdered Father

 

 

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Del Rio Apartment Complex Owners Ignored Multiple Requests from Staff to Increase Security

 Tampa – The companies that once owned the Avesta Del Rio Apartment Complex have agreed to pay the family of 23-year-old murder victim Damian Bowie $1.8 million to settle a negligent security lawsuit.  The lawsuit filed by Douglas McCarron of The Haggard Law Firm (www.haggardlawfirm.com) alleged that the deadly 2014 shooting that claimed Bowie’s life could have been prevented if complex ownership took action after multiple requests by staff members to better secure the property.

On March 2, 2014, Bowie visited the Del Rio apartments (5013 E. Sligh Avenue, Tampa) to spend time with friends before going to pick up his son Damian Jr. But, shortly before 4 p.m. that day, the father of three was assaulted, shot and killed on the property.

 “Through the course of our investigation, which included testimony by the defendant’s property manager, it was clear that the employees at the property were pleading for more security and consistently telling upper management how people’s lives were are risk. Instead of acting responsibly, the defendant simply turned a blind eye” said McCarron.

The lawsuit against 5013 Sligh LLC and Avesta Homes on behalf of the victim’s mother and his three children Damian Jr. (5), Damion (3) and Sincere (2 – born two months after his father was killed), alleged the property’s owners knew the area and property were considered high crime areas. McCarron adds, “unfortunately their inaction allowed this tragedy to occur and now three young boys will never see their father again.”

The lawsuit highlights:

  • Testimony from a property manager and documented crime statistics that confirm the complex and area that surrounds is a high crime area.
  • An email sent by Kerrie Richardson, property manager of the complex at the time of the shooting,  to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Department requesting an off duty police officer (sent six months before the murder) because of the amount of crime
  • An email from Richardson to corporate for directions on what to do with a tenant that asked for termination of their lease after they were robbed at gunpoint and had their car broken into in just three months.
  • A request by Richardson to property owners asking for expanded security for daytime hours. Bowie was murdered at 4 p.m.

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The victim’s family members hope new attention on this case will help police. No one has been charged in the crime.

It should be noted that the defendants in this case currently do NOT own the Avesta Del Rio Complex.