HB 1075

1
A bill to be entitled
2An act for the relief of Ashraf Kamel and Marguerite
3Dimitri by the Palm Beach County School Board; providing
4for an appropriation to compensate Ashraf Kamel and
5Marguerite Dimitri for the wrongful death of their minor
6child, Jean A. Pierre Kamel, as a result of the negligence
7of the Palm Beach County School Board; providing an
8effective date.
9
10     WHEREAS, Jean A. Pierre Kamel, age 13, was killed on
11January 27, 1997, when he was shot by 14-year-old Tronneal
12Mangum in front of Conniston Middle School, a Palm Beach County
13public school, and
14     WHEREAS, Jean A. Pierre Kamel's surviving father, Ashraf
15Kamel, brought a wrongful-death action against the Palm Beach
16County School Board, seeking damages for Marguerite Dimitri,
17Jean's mother, and himself for their anguish and mental pain and
18suffering due to the tragic death of their minor son, and
19     WHEREAS, before the shooting occurred, Tronneal Mangum and
20Jean Kamel, both of whom were students at Conniston, had a prior
21confrontation, namely Mangum's kicking Jean Kamel in his
22prosthetic leg, and
23     WHEREAS, Jean Kamel and Tronneal Mangum met with a guidance
24counselor and told the counselor that Mangum had a watch that
25belonged to Jean Kamel, and
26     WHEREAS, Jean Kamel told an agent or employee of the school
27board that "Tronneal is out to get me" just days before he was
28shot and killed, and
29     WHEREAS, on the day of the shooting, Tronneal Mangum
30traveled to Conniston Middle School on the school bus with a
31loaded firearm and entered school property carrying the weapon,
32and
33     WHEREAS, the Palm Beach County School Board was on notice
34that students had brought firearms to Conniston Middle School on
35previous occasions, and
36     WHEREAS, on February 8, 2002, a Palm Beach County jury
37found that the Palm Beach County School Board was negligent and
3880-percent liable for the death of Jean Kamel, and that Jean
39Kamel was 20-percent comparatively negligent for his own death,
40and
41     WHEREAS, the same jury determined that the amount of
42damages of Ashraf Kamel and Marguerite Dimitri for their anguish
43and mental pain and suffering as a result of the negligence of
44the Palm Beach County School Board was $2 million, and
45     WHEREAS, on February 22, 2002, the circuit court reduced
46the jury verdict to final judgment in the sum of $1,602,400,
47based on the offset for 20-percent comparative negligence, and
48     WHEREAS, on May 14, 2002, the circuit court entered a cost
49judgment in favor of Ashraf Kamel in the amount of $13,490, and
50     WHEREAS, the Palm Beach County School Board appealed the
51final judgment, and the Fourth District Court of Appeal rejected
52the appeal in a per curiam affirmed opinion issued on February
5312, 2003, and
54     WHEREAS, on February 27, 2003, the Palm Beach County School
55Board filed a Motion for Rehearing and Certification of Issues
56of Great Public Importance, which was denied by the Fourth
57District Court of Appeal on March 20, 2003, and
58     WHEREAS, on April 17, 2003, the Palm Beach County School
59Board tendered to Ashraf Kamel, as personal representative of
60the Estate of Jean A. Pierre Kamel, a payment of $200,000, in
61accordance with the statutory limits of liability set forth in
62s. 768.28, Florida Statutes, and
63     WHEREAS, Ashraf Kamel and Marguerite Dimitri and the Palm
64Beach County School Board agreed to settle the claim for a total
65of $560,000, and
66     WHEREAS, Ashraf Kamel, as personal representative of the
67Estate of Jean A. Pierre Kamel, seeks satisfaction of the
68$360,000 balance of the settlement agreement, NOW, THEREFORE,
69
70Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
71
72     Section 1.  The facts stated in the preamble to this act
73are found and declared to be true.
74     Section 2.  The Palm Beach County School Board is
75authorized and directed to appropriate from funds of the school
76board not otherwise encumbered and to draw a warrant payable to
77Ashraf Kamel, as personal representative of the Estate of Jean
78A. Pierre Kamel, for the total amount of $180,000, to compensate
79Ashraf Kamel for injuries and damages sustained due to the death
80of Jean A. Pierre Kamel, minor son of Ashraf Kamel and
81Marguerite Dimitri, as a result of the negligence of the school
82board.
83     Section 3.  The Palm Beach County School Board is
84authorized and directed to appropriate from funds of the school
85board not otherwise encumbered and to draw a warrant payable to
86Marguerite Dimitri for the amount of $180,000, to compensate
87Marguerite Dimitri for injuries and damages sustained due to the
88death of Jean A. Pierre Kamel, minor son of Ashraf Kamel and
89Marguerite Dimitri, as a result of the negligence of the school
90board.
91     Section 4.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.


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