Georgia Jury Puts Apartment Complex On Hook For $10 Million After Resident Shot By Unknown Perpetrators
On Jan. 24, 2015, Florencio Gomez-Mendez was shot and killed at his residence in Bradford Ridge Apartments, which was owned and/or operated by JAMCO Properties, Inc. and Clayton Carriage Apts. LLC.
On June 11, 2015, a complaint arising out of the incident was filed in the Georgia State Court for Clayton County. The plaintiffs were Roger Kirschenbaum, as administrator of the Estate of Florencio Gomez-Mendez, and Gomez-Mendez's widow, Pascuala Perez-Hernandez, who brought the action individually and as next friend and guardian of M.G., E.G. and A.G, minors. The defendants were JAMCO Properties, Inc. and Clayton Carriage Apts. LLC. Plaintiffs maintained that the apartment complex did not have adequate security, and they asserted claims for relief that included negligent failure to warn residents of a known danger, failure to keep the property safe, and failure to properly inspect and maintain the property.
The matter proceeded to a jury trial, and on Sept. 9, 2016, the jury returned a verdict in plaintiffs' favor. According to information provided by plaintiffs' counsel in a Sept. 21, 2016 press release, the all-female jury awarded plaintiff $18,000,000 for the full value of Gomez-Mendez' life and $2,000,000 for the pain and suffering he experienced before he died. The jury apportioned fault 50% to JAMCO and 50% to the unknown perpetrators.
Plaintiff was represented by Jeff Shiver, Alan Hamilton, Scott Campbell, and Daniel Beer of Shiver Hamilton, LLC.
Lexis Advance subscribers can view the summary here: Roger Kirschenbaum, as Administrator of the Estate of Florencio Gomez-Mendez, Deceased, and Pascuala Perez-Hernandez, Individually and as Next Friend and Guardian of M.G., E.G. and A.G, minors, v. JAMCO Properties, Inc. and Clayton Carriage Apts. LLC; 2016 Jury Verdicts LEXIS 6919
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