Senate Bill sb0042

    Florida Senate - 2006                                    SB 42

    By Senator Campbell





    32-108-06

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to the Palm Beach County School

  3         District; providing for the relief of Monika

  4         Davis by and through Mary Hall, her mother and

  5         legal guardian, for injuries and damages caused

  6         by the negligence of the Palm Beach County

  7         School District; providing for the use of the

  8         funds; providing for attorney's fees and costs;

  9         providing an effective date.

10  

11         WHEREAS, on September 22, 2000, Monika Davis, a

12  mentally challenged, vulnerable adult female, was under the

13  custody, care, and control of the Palm Beach County School

14  District, and

15         WHEREAS, the Palm Beach County School District was

16  obligated to provide continuous monitoring and supervision of

17  Monika Davis throughout the entire school period, and the

18  school district did, in fact, receive additional staff funding

19  to carry out that obligation, and

20         WHEREAS, the school district was expressly aware that

21  a male student who functioned at a higher mental level than

22  Miss Davis had sexually assaulted and battered numerous other

23  female students before he sexually battered Monika Davis, and

24  the school district also was obligated to provide continuous

25  monitoring and supervision of that male student throughout the

26  entire school period and received additional funding for that

27  purpose, and

28         WHEREAS, the Palm Beach County School District left

29  both Monika Davis and the male student in an unsupervised

30  classroom for an extended period of time, which resulted in

31  the vaginal rape of Monika Davis by the male student, and

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






    Florida Senate - 2006                                    SB 42
    32-108-06




 1         WHEREAS, after 6 days of trial, a Palm Beach County

 2  jury returned a verdict finding that the school district's

 3  negligence was the legal cause of traumatic psychological

 4  injuries and damages suffered by Monika Davis, and

 5         WHEREAS, a final judgment in the amount of $273,416.16

 6  was entered by Judge Diana Lewis of the Fifteenth Judicial

 7  Circuit, and

 8         WHEREAS, the Palm Beach County School District has

 9  satisfied $100,000 of the amount of that judgment, leaving an

10  unpaid balance in the amount of $173,416.16, NOW, THEREFORE,

11  

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

13  

14         Section 1.  The facts stated in the preamble to this

15  act are found and declared to be true.

16         Section 2.  The Palm Beach County School District is

17  directed to compensate Monika Davis, by and through Mary Hall,

18  her mother and legal guardian, in the amount of $173,416.16

19  for injuries and damages caused by the negligence of the Palm

20  Beach County School District, such payment to be made in one

21  lump sum out of funds of the school district's reserve account

22  budgeted for such contingencies. After payment of statutory

23  attorney's fees and costs, the balance shall be paid into the

24  restricted guardianship account or the special needs trust

25  account established for Monika Davis.

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

27  law.

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