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7 Shot in Jacksonville Apartment Complex With History of Murder/Violent Crime and Poor Security

Posted on August 10, 2016 by HaggardTeam

The article below from The Florida Times Union details the latest on a mass shooting at the Eureka Garden Apartment Complex in Jacksonville. The media reports that 7 people were shot by at least three gunmen.

Shots fired and people getting shot at the Eureka Garden Apartments is on ongoing problem. The complex has had multiple homicides and violent crimes over the past few years, including the murder of 22-year-old Christopher Cornelio (pictured above with his parents). Haggard Law Firm attorneys Douglas McCarron and Jason Brenner currently represent Cornelio’s family, including his young son, in a civil suit against the property’s owners. Cornelio was shot and killed at Eureka Garden in March of 2014. The ownership and management of the complex refuse to take the necessary steps to make the property even remotely safe.

Their indifference was also seen in a massive Code Enforcement sweep last October. The living conditions at the complex were deplorable. Sadly, this incident appears to be a result of wealthy corporation placing profits over the safety its residents.

From Jacksonville Times Union Article: 7 wounded in Eureka Garden attack; about 50 rounds fired, police say

….People were sitting or standing around a stairway to Unit 11 at Eureka Garden late Sunday when the gunfire began.

Gunmen opened up at 11:45 p.m., hitting seven people outside a building at the troubled Westside apartment complex as other bullets shattered and pierced the windows of a parked sport-utility vehicle nearby, according to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office.

Police said three gunmen walked up between the two apartment units across Altoona Court, just a few dozen feet off Plymouth Street at the west end of the subsidized apartment complex. They aimed at eight or 10 people “just hanging out” in front of Unit 11, leaving two in life-threatening condition, police said.

“They fired numerous rounds. It appears to be rifle rounds and from handguns, into the crowd,” said Sgt. Shawn Coursey, part of the Sheriff’s Violent Crime Impact team. “There was an infant in the crowd. Thankfully, the infant was not struck.”

The gunmen fired more than 50 rounds at the people before fleeing. Victims were taken to UF Health Jacksonville and Orange Park Medical Center, police said.

…to read entire article from Jacksonville Times Union, click here

Jumpstart Success With These Case Building Efforts

Posted on August 3, 2016 by HaggardTeam

By: Christopher Marlowe, The Haggard Law Firm

Preparing to exceed the burden of proof and maximizing damages begins at client signup. The defense counsel has a head start. From the moment of loss, the defendant has secured or destroyed evidence, interviewed witnesses, researched the client, developed theories of defense, comparative fault, and otherwise played five or six key chess moves before plaintiff counsel even knew they were in the game.

Assuming the defendant is tireless and meticulous in its work is the only safe and essential assumption plaintiff counsel should make when preparing a case. Regardless of the cause of action, assume that the plaintiff and every friendly known witness has a history that, if known, will adversely affect the ultimate outcome. Until proven otherwise through the use of public records and interviews, all of which should occur pre-suit outside of formal discovery, remain vigilant in learning everything to know about the client and witnesses that may be called on throughout the litigation. Background checks, civil, criminal and family court files all will either confirm a cautiously optimistic impression of the plaintiff, or prepare to deal with the collateral—usually irrelevant, but always distracting—attacks upon the person of your client when the time comes. The same exercise is performed upon all anticipated defendants.

This pregame ritual requires an attorney/client relationship that exceeds the formality of the client contract. As advocates, attorneys should remain focused on the end game, but along the way, the attorney-client relationship must be a candidly safe space. Building the trust necessary to avoid surprises down the line involves introducing other staff upon initiation of the attorney-client relationship. My assistant regularly phones witnesses and clients, even when no information is needed and when no deadlines are looming. This process signals to the client the reality that we are working hard for them, and increases the probability that we will learn in advance of any issues that may prove troublesome down the road.

Once in suit, the rules of discovery and formal deadlines begin to take hold of an attorney’s case building efforts, which makes the “informal” pre-suit information gathering process all the more important. As such, guard against rushing into suit. The time to mercilessly press for a special set trial begins after committing to the case armed with all reasonably available information and background materials on everyone involved.

Attorneys know in advance those materials that will be asked of the clients in standard discovery requests, but shouldn’t attorneys have learned as much as possible about the defendant and possible witnesses before filing suit? Filing suit is the moment in which we regain the tactical edge, because together with the complaint, targeted discovery requests based on information and materials we learned pre-suit ensure the defendant is responding to us rather than the other way around. And when the inevitable discovery is propounded upon the client, staff and attorney time is not wasted gathering materials and information that should have been in their possession from the beginning.

Whether an automobile accident, premises liability, medical negligence or product liability case, pre-suit research should inform attorneys of obstacles to success, and tools available to address those challenges as they arise. The internet is a tremendous resource, which should be used to identify the original source materials available for more detailed exploration. For example, in a premises liability case at a shopping mall, an attorney may not have pre-suit access to the leases between the various merchants and the management company or landowner. But if applicable to the facts of the case, the county record department will have any relevant easements pertaining to the property on file, often with supporting materials that one would not expect to find in a clerk’s office, including correspondence between landlords and tenants. In a dram shop case, the state licensing board for alcohol permits will have submissions from the applicant in order to have obtained the license to serve alcohol. The documents may include extensive correspondence by the soon-to-be defendant regarding the scale and scope of the intended use of that license, prior negative incidents, and attorneys may be surprised by the detailed photographs or schematic drawings of the establishment.

This pre-suit effort likely will not deliver a case on a silver platter. It may not ultimately provide the silver bullet at the first key deposition, where information obtained outside of discovery truly has the ability to surprise opposing counsel. But those attorneys who have dug as deeply as possible into all foreseeable issues and contingencies pre-suit will more efficiently prosecute the case and be ready to confidently select a jury the first time the case is up at calendar call. And, if an attorney by chance does find that silver bullet before the case is even filed, all the better.

By Christopher Marlowe, Partner, The Haggard Law Firm (pictured below)

This article was firs published in the Daily Business Review:

Haggard Law $1 Million Settlement in Negligent Security Case Featured in Daily Business Review

Posted on July 14, 2016 by HaggardTeam

Today’s copy of Daily Business Review has a feature on a recent $1 million settlement in a negligent security case lead by our Todd Michaels.

DBR ARTICLE

Background on the case:

Opa Locka, Florida – The owners of the Top Value Supermarket in Opa Locka have agreed to a payout of $1 million to the Estate of Miguel Pilotos, who was gunned down on the property during a robbery Aug. 21, 2013.

The 71-year-old man was simply picking up groceries when he was shot at the supermarket located on Northwest 137^th street and northwest 27^th avenue. The crime was caught on camera. The gunman rode up to the victim’s car on a bicycle and pulled out his weapon and shot the husband and father in the neck. Pilotos, who had under $20 on him when he was killed, had been with his wife Aleida for 25 years. He emigrated from Cuba 19 years ago.

The lawyer for the Pilotos family, Todd Michaels of The Haggard Law Firm, says the crime was predictable and preventable. “At the time of his murder, Miguel Pilotos was the third Top Value customer robbed and shot and the second one killed in that parking lot, in six months” says Michaels. He adds “despite the previous crimes, and the widespread knowledge the business was located in a high-crime area, the supermarket did not alter security in the parking lot in any way.”

All Haggard Law Firm Attorneys Named to 2016 Super Lawyers List

Posted on July 8, 2016 by HaggardTeam

The Haggard Law Firm’s William Haggard, Michael Haggard, Douglas McCarron, Christopher Marlowe, Todd Michaels and James Blecke have all been named to the 2016 Super Lawyers List.

Super Lawyers is a rating service of outstanding lawyers from more than 70 practice areas who have attained a high-degree of peer recognition and professional achievement.

The patented selection process includes independent research, peer nominations, and peer evaluations.

Click here for Bios of Haggard Law Firm Attorneys

The Haggard Law Firm’s Jason Brenner and Pedro Echarte were included in the 2016 Super Lawyers Rising Stars list.

Michaels Selected Chair of FJA Committee

Posted on July 5, 2016 by HaggardTeam

The Haggard Law Firm’s Todd Michaels has been selected as the Chair of the Florida Justice Association’s Rental Car Committee.

The Committee is responsible for drafting any proactive legislation that the FJA would like to pursue, assist staff in drafting position papers and amendments and to act as an advisory group during the state’s legislative session on issues within the expertise of its members.

Michaels is currently an FJA board member, is on the organization’s executive committee and is the Miami-Dade County Vanguard Chair .

The FJA is dedicated to strengthening and upholding Florida’s civil justice system and protecting the rights of Florida’s citizens and consumers.

The FJA believes that all Floridians benefit when deserving individuals have a fair chance to seek justice in our state’s courts and that Florida’s consumers are made safer when large corporations and industries are held to a high ethical standard and accept fair responsibility for their actions.

FJA works in the legislative, political and public arenas to ensure that Floridians know and understand the importance of their rights to justice and to make certain that these rights, which are at the very core of what it means to be American, are safeguarded and protected.

NEGLIGENT SECURITY CASE RESULT: $1 million in settlement

Posted on June 13, 2016 by HaggardTeam

NEGLIGENT SECURITY CASE RESULT: Family of 71-year-old man murdered in parking lot of Opa Locka supermarket to receive $1 million in settlement with the businesses’ owners

Victim’s wife of 25 years hopes result of lawsuit will drive other businesses to increase security measures

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[mkd_blockquote text=”At the time of his murder, Miguel Pilotos was the third Top Value customer robbed and shot and the second one killed in that parking lot, in six months” title_tag=”” width=”” border_color=”#930027″]

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Seventeen-year-old Jamal Jackson was arrested for the crime.

Coverage following the arrest of Jackson several weeks after the crime:

CBS MIAMI: http://miami.cbslocal.com/2013/09/13/arrest-made-in-opa-locka-parking-lot-murder/

NBC Miami: http://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local/Family-of-Man-Gunned-Down-in-Opa-locka-Supermarket-Parking-Lot-Pleads-for-Suspects-Capture-222628231.html

Evidence Development In Negligent Security Cases

Posted on June 11, 2016 by HaggardTeam

Authored By The Haggard Law Firm’s Christopher L. Marlowe

When you argue that your client’s injuries could have been prevented through the use of reasonable security measures, the defendant will claim those measures are excessive or unnecessary. So what are reasonable measures, and how can you help the jury view the case through your eyes? You must first go to the crime scene and begin reviewing any security efforts that the defendant undertook.

A crucial part of evidence development in these cases is examining the premises and putting the security measures into context. For example, a client was stabbed to death in his aunt’s apartment complex parking lot as he went to the vending machines near the community swimming pool.¹ The complex gave a rent-free unit to a courtesy security officer who was also a local police officer and claimed to perform three daily patrols around the property with an enormous dog and a pistol. She also submitted observation reports to management. I was deflated by this proactive security regime until the officer and on-site managers were deposed.

Through public record requests, I obtained the officer’s call schedule for her official police duties for the previous three years. The three daily patrols she claimed she conducted could not be reconciled with her documented obligations for the city police department. The nuisance crimes of vandalism and drug use at the community swimming pool were incompatible with her insistence that once she locked the common area amenities at night, the property was under control. And somehow her fellow officers failed to inform her of four robberies and a carjacking that occurred at the complex while she lived there. At trial, the plaintiff’s counsel was able to expose this façade, and the jury found the complex was 100 percent liable.

In another case, my client was shot in the face at a gas station near the Miami-Dade County Fairgrounds during the annual fair. My first few visits to the property were unremarkable, so I wondered how we could convince any jury that this ordinary gas station should have employed security. So we waited to visit again until the next year’s county fair.

By comparing surveillance video from a normal Friday night with video from the same time and date during the following year’s county fair, we were able to show the massive increase in foot and vehicle traffic during the fair. We did not advocate that there was anything wrong with the gas station itself – but we explained that for two weeks each year, it assumed an entirely different criminal profile, and increased security measures should have been deployed. Understanding your site will help you stay focused on the defendant’s duty to appreciate the foreseeable risk and act on it.

(Pictured: Attorney Christopher Marlowe)

Sometimes, when security is compromised, there will be a debate about whether armed or unarmed security was appropriate for a property. The jury is unlikely to punish a defendant for choosing unarmed over armed guards if the choice was based on intelligence and made after informed deliberations.

Other security decisions become central to the case. Premises owners and managers often use security vendors, who make recommendations for protecting the property against crime. The vendor invariably will have suggested implementing the most comprehensive security system, but the defendant chose a lesser program due to cost. Driving a wedge between the vendor and the property manager becomes very important, and you can do this with the assistance of either entity’s former employees. Defendants usually are not on the same page as their vendors about crime on the premises, the necessary remedies, or the rationale for the choices made.

Familiarity with crimes that occurred on the property is fundamental. Do not rely on crime statistics or grids. Read every police report from the property, going back at least three years from your client’s assault. What may appear to be a simple property crime can yield the greatest notice and foreseeability witnesses. For example, a police report showing theft of a cell phone from a vehicle may appear trivial and unrelated on its face. However, the victim of that property crime often will have reported it to management and felt violated by that intrusion, especially if it happened more than once. The best witness regarding notice of on-premises crimes may be a robbery victim who constantly complained to management.

As the defendant tries to distract your attention from the core issues, refocus the case on specific criminal incidents and what the defendant failed to do in response to each. Make sure to use police reports when deposing the defendant – it will force them to admit, repeatedly, that they either did not know of the crime or that they did not make any changes in response to it. Specific crimes will help you show the jury that your case is not about crime generally or in the city where the property is located – it is about crime on this specific property.

Negligent security cases can consume thousands of hours from inception to conclusion. You must contend with both criminal and civil investigations, witnesses who may reasonably fear retribution, properties in crime-ridden areas, and even clients whose presence at the time of the incident concerns jurors. To get past these difficulties, it is crucial to maintain your focus on proving that the defendant’s security measures were inadequate.

Learn more about The Haggard Law Firm by clicking here

Notes:

1. Almaguer v. MIG Pines Dev., Ltd., No. 08-50972 CA 21 (Fla., Broward Co. Cir., Mar. 25, 2010).

National Swim Safety Month – Updating/Maintaining Gates, Fencing, Pumps Can Save Lives

Posted on May 25, 2016 by HaggardTeam

Drowning is the leading cause of death for young children in Florida. Communities throughout the state are filled with rivers, lakes, canals and streams. Waterfront property is attractive, and residential communities everywhere hold out their frontage along a body of water as an asset. While often mindful of the risks posed by swimming pools, too many residential owners are not aware of the risks associated with other bodies of water.

A residential property owner in Florida will generally not be held responsible for a drowning in a natural body of water that simply is adjacent to the property.

However, encouraging the active use of the water could subject the owner to liability, as could facilitating its use to guests or the general community. If the water is not intended for swimming or other recreational activities, making changes to fencing and barriers is problematic if the barrier is not properly maintained and in accordance with applicable codes and regulations. Posting warning signage, if permitted by community regulations and applicable ordinances, can increase awareness to others to not enter the water.

If water use is encouraged and intended, as with a lake or river for fishing or waterskiing, the owners along the lake generally will not be liable to others for accidents upon the water, unless a separate act of negligence is related directly to that owner which caused or contributed to the accident.

As with any potentially dangerous condition, think about how that hazard is likely to interact with the people who visit your property. If water use is not allowed, make sure this fact is communicated to visitors. If water activities are a feature of the property, have policies in place that ensure the visitors know where, how and when access to the water is allowed, together with prominent notifications that the water is or is not being monitored by life guards.

In January 2003, our firm won a$100 million verdict in the case of a toddler who nearly drowned in her apartment complex pool because she gained access to the pool area through a broken pool gate (Hinton v. 2331 Adams Street Corp).

In August 2003, the firm made history again by attaining a $104 million verdict in a case where a boy got trapped underwater by the suction of a defective and unsafe pool pump (Peterson v. Sta-Rite).

Our attorneys also strive for tightened safety rules for pools in homes, apartments and hotels. Our work representing victims has spurred changes in state codes and laws governing pool safety.

This cases do not have to occur.

Trampling at Movie Theater Leads to $1.7 Million Verdict for Haggard Law Client

Posted on May 13, 2016 by HaggardTeam

Jury agrees that Regal Cinemas could have prevented incident during screening of Dark Knight movie

Miami Beach, FL – A Miami-Dade County jury has awarded 34 year old Maria Navas $1.7 million for the permanent injury she suffered when she was trampled by theater goers frantically trying to escape an altercation in a Miami Beach theater only days after a mass shooting at a movie theater in Colorado.

blog4 On July 31^st , 2012 Navas was on a first date in the Regal Cinemas Theaters at 1120 Lincoln Road. Navas and her date were watching the Dark Knight Rises movie when two men began arguing. One of them, David Escamillo, walked out of the theater for a short time and returned wearing black gloves. As he pursued the man he was previously arguing with, witnesses report he paced up and down the steps of the theater mumbling and grunting for 10 minutes before he yelled “this is it”. Chaos ensued as patrons began running out of the theater. Navas was trampled by the frantic crowd. She suffered a significant fracture of her right foot that required two surgeries to place 18 pieces of hardware (plates & screws) in her foot. The once active woman is now limited in what she can do.

Jason Brenner and Douglas McCarron of the Haggard Law Firm (www.haggardlawfirm.com), who represented Navas in this case, argued that the trampling incident was preventable, especially in light of the sensitivity every American had to movie theater violence at that time. Only 11 days before the incident in Miami Beach, a gunman walked into a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado during a screening of the same movie, Dark Knight Rises, and began shooting patrons. 12 people were killed and more than 70 others were injured.

The attorneys said theater staff in Miami Beach did nothing to diffuse the initial argument between Escamillo and the movie patron. The staff also did not prevent Escamillo from returning when he initially left the theater which eventually lead to the mass exodus that caused Navas’ injuries. Considering what had recently occurred in Colorado, the theater should have taken heightened security measures.

Navas hopes this verdict will make movie theaters take note of their responsibility to protect patrons by taking actionable steps to ensure safety of every patron

blog5 The Haggard Law Firm, P.A. represents the rights of people seriously injured through the fault of others. We are passionately committed to our clients and stress the highest level of personal service, professionalism and case preparation. It is our top priority to develop and maintain a sound attorney/client relationship founded on mutual honesty, trust and teamwork providing the best results for our clients.

CASE RESULT: $3.1 million settlement delivered for family of murder victim in negligent security case

Posted on April 7, 2016 by HaggardTeam

CASE RESULT: Continental Real Estate Companies among defendants in $3.1 million settlement in negligent security case

21 year old shot and killed while his first child is born.

Miami, Florida – Bad lighting, broken cameras, and other insufficient security measures have lead a Miami nightclub, Continent Real Estate Companies, and others to settle with the family of a murder victim for $3.1 million in a civil case.

On November 28^th, 2011 Charles Lucas, Jr. was trying to diffuse an argument between his friends and several patrons of the Kaffe Krystal Night Club in Miami (2550 NW 72^nd Avenue #305, Miami, FL 33122) following a car crash in the Club’s parking lot. Lucas was shot during that argument and later died at Baptist Hospital.

While the 21-year-old was fighting for his life, his first born child was born at a separate hospital. He was trying to leave the club/strip mall after receiving a text message that his girlfriend was going into labor.

Todd Michaels of The Haggard Law Firm and Alan Goldfarb of Alan Goldfarb, P.A. argued that the club, strip mall owners, management company and security company hired to police the property did not take the necessary security steps needed to prevent the shooting despite its location in a well-known high crime area.

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Tag: lawyers

7 Shot in Jacksonville Apartment Complex With History of Murder/Violent Crime and Poor Security

Jumpstart Success With These Case Building Efforts

Haggard Law $1 Million Settlement in Negligent Security Case Featured in Daily Business Review

All Haggard Law Firm Attorneys Named to 2016 Super Lawyers List

Michaels Selected Chair of FJA Committee

NEGLIGENT SECURITY CASE RESULT: $1 million in settlement

NEGLIGENT SECURITY CASE RESULT: Family of 71-year-old man murdered in parking lot of Opa Locka supermarket to receive $1 million in settlement with the businesses’ owners

Victim’s wife of 25 years hopes result of lawsuit will drive other businesses to increase security measures

Evidence Development In Negligent Security Cases

National Swim Safety Month – Updating/Maintaining Gates, Fencing, Pumps Can Save Lives

Trampling at Movie Theater Leads to $1.7 Million Verdict for Haggard Law Client

Jury agrees that Regal Cinemas could have prevented incident during screening of Dark Knight movie

CASE RESULT: $3.1 million settlement delivered for family of murder victim in negligent security case

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