Florida Senate - 2015                               CS for SB 78
       
       
        
       By the Committee on Judiciary; and Senator Flores
       
       
       
       
       
       590-03271-15                                            201578c1
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act for the relief of Maricelly Lopez by the City
    3         of North Miami; providing for an appropriation to
    4         compensate Maricelly Lopez, individually and as
    5         personal representative of the Estate of Omar Mieles,
    6         for the wrongful death of her son, Omar Mieles, which
    7         was due to the negligence of a police officer of the
    8         City of North Miami; providing a limitation on the
    9         payment of fees and costs; providing that the
   10         appropriation settles all present and future claims
   11         related to the death of Omar Mieles; providing an
   12         effective date.
   13  
   14         WHEREAS, on November 11, 2007, 18-year-old Omar Mieles was
   15  a passenger in the back seat of a vehicle traveling eastbound on
   16  NW 46th Street in North Miami, Florida, and
   17         WHEREAS, at that time and place, Officer James Ray
   18  Thompson, a police officer employed by the City of North Miami
   19  Police Department, while in the course and scope of his duties
   20  as a police officer, negligently drove a police department
   21  vehicle at a high rate of speed and collided with the vehicle in
   22  which Omar Mieles was a passenger, and
   23         WHEREAS, as a direct result of the collision caused by
   24  Officer Thompson’s negligence, Omar Mieles was thrown from the
   25  rear window of the vehicle in which he was traveling, landed 35
   26  feet from the vehicle, and died shortly thereafter from the
   27  injuries he sustained, and
   28         WHEREAS, the mother of Omar Mieles, Maricelly Lopez, has
   29  endured continuous mental pain and suffering since the date of
   30  her son’s death and seeks to recover damages, individually, for
   31  loss of support, services, and companionship due to the death of
   32  her son, and
   33         WHEREAS, the Estate of Omar Mieles seeks to recover damages
   34  for medical expenses, funeral expenses, loss of earnings, and
   35  net accumulation of earnings, and
   36         WHEREAS, on June 23, 2008, Maricelly Lopez, as personal
   37  representative of the Estate of Omar Mieles and in her
   38  individual capacity as mother of Omar Mieles, filed an action
   39  against the City of North Miami in the Miami-Dade County Circuit
   40  Court, styled Maricelly Lopez, Plaintiff, v. City of North
   41  Miami, Defendants, Case No. 13-2008-CA-035955-0000-01, to
   42  recover damages for the wrongful death of Omar Mieles as a
   43  result of the negligence of a police officer of the City of
   44  North Miami, and
   45         WHEREAS, on March 19, 2010, the case was tried before a
   46  jury that returned a verdict for damages against the City of
   47  North Miami and in favor of Maricelly Lopez, as personal
   48  representative of the Estate of Omar Mieles and in her
   49  individual capacity as mother of Omar Mieles, in the amount of
   50  $3,542,000, and
   51         WHEREAS, the jury apportioned 50 percent of the
   52  responsibility for the death of Omar Mieles to the City of North
   53  Miami, and 50 percent to the driver of the vehicle in which Omar
   54  Mieles was traveling as a passenger, and
   55         WHEREAS, on April 21, 2010, a final judgment was entered
   56  against the City of North Miami for $1,719,808.63, of which the
   57  city has paid $108,571.30 pursuant to the statutory limits of
   58  liability set forth in s. 768.28, Florida Statutes, and
   59         WHEREAS, on March 24, 2015, the City of North Miami passed
   60  a resolution unanimously authorizing the settlement of the claim
   61  for $200,000, and supporting the passage of a claim bill in that
   62  amount for Maricelly Lopez, individually and as personal
   63  representative of Omar Mieles, and
   64         WHEREAS, the City of North Miami and Maricelly Lopez have
   65  agreed to settle the claim for $200,000, NOW, THEREFORE,
   66  
   67  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   68  
   69         Section 1. The facts stated in the preamble to this act are
   70  found and declared to be true.
   71         Section 2. The City of North Miami is authorized and
   72  directed to appropriate from funds of the city not otherwise
   73  appropriated and to draw a warrant in the amount of $200,000.00,
   74  payable to Maricelly Lopez, individually and as personal
   75  representative of the Estate of Omar Mieles, as compensation for
   76  the death of her son due to the negligence of a police officer
   77  of the City of North Miami.
   78         Section 3. The total amount paid for attorney fees,
   79  lobbying fees, costs, and other similar expenses relating to
   80  this claim may not exceed 25 percent of the amount awarded under
   81  this act.
   82         Section 4. The amount paid by the City of North Miami
   83  pursuant to s. 768.28, Florida Statutes, and the amount awarded
   84  under this act are intended to provide the sole compensation for
   85  all present and future claims arising out of the factual
   86  situation described in this act which resulted in the death of
   87  Omar Mieles.
   88         Section 5. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.