Senate Bill 0040

    Florida Senate - 1999        (NP)                        SB 40

    By Senator Campbell





    4-64-99

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to the City of Tallahassee;

  3         providing for the relief of Warren Weathington

  4         and his father, Carl Weathington, for injuries

  5         sustained as a result of the negligent conduct

  6         of tennis pros employed by the City of

  7         Tallahassee; providing for an appropriation by

  8         the City of Tallahassee; providing an effective

  9         date.

10

11         WHEREAS, on September 15, 1993, 15-year-old Warren

12  Weathington was a participant in the Tournament Tough Training

13  Camp run by the City of Tallahassee and as such was placed in

14  the care of the City of Tallahassee tennis pro employees, and

15         WHEREAS, during the training session on that date,

16  Warren Weathington was using a piece of training equipment

17  known as the Viper, which was purchased, maintained, and put

18  into use in an improper fashion on that day by the employees

19  of the City of Tallahassee, and

20         WHEREAS, the Viper training device utilizes an elastic

21  rubber hose attached to a metal hook on one end and a belt on

22  the other end, and

23         WHEREAS, due to the city's employees' improper

24  attachment of the Viper training device to a chain link fence,

25  the metal hood became a dangerous missile that flew through

26  the air and impacted Warren Weathington's head, lodged into

27  his skull, and penetrated his brain tissue, and

28         WHEREAS, Warren Weathington survived the accident but

29  has sustained permanent serious brain damage as a result of

30  the traumatic brain injury, and

31

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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.






    Florida Senate - 1999        (NP)                        SB 40
    4-64-99




  1         WHEREAS, on January 7, 1994, a Complaint was filed on

  2  behalf of Warren Weathington and his father in Circuit Court

  3  in Leon County, and

  4         WHEREAS, in April of 1998, the case was tried before a

  5  jury that found the City of Tallahassee negligent and awarded

  6  damages to Warren Weathington and his father, and

  7         WHEREAS, pursuant to the jury's verdict, a Final

  8  Judgment was entered against the City of Tallahassee in the

  9  amount of $1,005,000 for Warren Weathington and $11,348.77 for

10  his father, Carl Weathington, and

11         WHEREAS, the court also entered a cost judgment in the

12  amount of $23,173.89 in favor of Warren Weathington, and

13         WHEREAS, the City of Tallahassee has paid nothing to

14  either Warren Weathington or his father, Carl Weathington,

15  NOW, THEREFORE,

16

17  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

18

19         Section 1.  The facts as stated in the preamble to this

20  act are found and declared to be true.

21         Section 2.  The City of Tallahassee is authorized and

22  directed to appropriate from the funds of the city not

23  otherwise appropriated and to draw warrants in the sum of

24  $1,028,173.89 payable to Warren Weathington and $11,348.77

25  payable to Carl Weathington to compensate them for injuries

26  and damages sustained as a result of the negligence on the

27  part of the City of Tallahassee. Such sums include the amount

28  payable from the city pursuant to section 768.28, Florida

29  Statutes, Florida's sovereign immunity statute.

30         Section 3.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a

31  law.

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