A case involving the negligent security of an apartment complex in Florida has finally come to a conclusion after over a decade of winding through that state’s courts. The estates of those killed in the events leading up to the case are expected to receive a significant recovery in the wrongful death victory.
Apartment Complex Fails to Protect Residents
The case stemmed from a classic example of lax security at an apartment complex.
20-year-old Clara Sanders and her 17-year-old brother Chauncey Sanders moved into the gated apartment complex Gatehouse on the Green in late 2004. The complex was surrounded by a water-filled moat and a wall to protect residents inside. Inside the gated community, the complex maintained the lighting, locks, and peepholes of the apartments, as well as the apartments’ alarm systems.
Nearly a year after moving in, on September 7, 2005, the siblings were shot to death by an unknown assailant, who subsequently robbed their apartment. The gate that was supposed to protect the complex – and which the complex was expected to maintain – had been broken for around two months before the murders, allowing anyone to enter the area. Additionally, contrary to the complex’s written policy, residents were not kept informed of a rash of robberies and break-ins that had occurred over the previous three years inside the complex.
Lawsuit Ends With Negligent Security Win
Following the deaths of the Sanders siblings, the representatives of their estates filed wrongful death lawsuits against the complex, claiming that it was the complex that was responsible for their murders due to its negligent security.
Specifically, the lawsuit claimed that the complex failed to maintain the front gate, did not have adequate security to protect residents, did not prevent dangerous people from gaining access to the complex, and failed to adequately warn residents of the criminal acts that had been occurring, preventing residents from taking their own initiatives to keep themselves safe.
The negligent security case went to trial, where the jury awarded $1.8 million award to the Sanders siblings. The Florida appellate court, however, struck the jury award after considering the case, but the Sanders siblings took it to the Florida Supreme Court, which overturned the intermediate appellate court, reinstated the jury verdict, and sent the case back down to the appeals court. After a few more hearings to decide if it should reconsider the case, the appeals court finally issued an order to bring the case to a close.
Negligent Security Attorney in Cobb County
The case presented a classic negligent security situation, where an apartment complex assured its residents that it would do all that it could to prevent dangerous conduct, and then promptly forgot about its promises, leading to someone getting killed. Unfortunately, these kinds of situations happen all the time in Georgia, with countless people suffering as a result.
If you have been let down by your landlord’s promises to keep your apartment secure, contact the premises liability attorney at Williams Elleby Howard & Easter to get the legal representation that you need.
