| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to Palm Beach County; providing for the |
| 3 | relief of Claudia Kautz, mother of Diana M. Kautz, |
| 4 | deceased, and Jeffrey Kautz, father of Diana M. Kautz, |
| 5 | deceased; providing for an appropriation to compensate |
| 6 | them for injuries and damages sustained as a result of the |
| 7 | negligence of an employee of the District School Board of |
| 8 | Palm Beach County; providing for lobbying fees, attorney's |
| 9 | fees, and costs; providing an effective date. |
| 10 |
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| 11 | WHEREAS, on November 11, 2004, Maria E. Abrahantes |
| 12 | negligently operated a school bus at the intersection of Orange |
| 13 | Boulevard and Hall Boulevard in Royal Palm Beach, Palm Beach |
| 14 | County, Florida, so that the school bus collided with another |
| 15 | vehicle and rolled over, causing serious injury to and the |
| 16 | subsequent death of passenger Diana M. Kautz, and |
| 17 | WHEREAS, at the time of the accident, Maria E. Abrahantes |
| 18 | was operating the school bus as an employee of the District |
| 19 | School Board of Palm Beach County in a southbound direction on |
| 20 | Hall Boulevard, and |
| 21 | WHEREAS, at its intersection with Orange Boulevard, a stop |
| 22 | sign was visible on Hall Boulevard and five sets of "rumble |
| 23 | strips" were in place on the southbound lane leading up to the |
| 24 | stop sign, and |
| 25 | WHEREAS, Maria E. Abrahantes negligently operated the |
| 26 | school bus by traveling over the rumble strips without braking, |
| 27 | thus running the stop sign and entering Orange Boulevard, |
| 28 | violating the right-of-way of east-west traffic and causing the |
| 29 | truck operated by Jeffrey Schwartz to hit the school bus, which |
| 30 | rolled over and caused serious injury to and the subsequent |
| 31 | death of Diana M. Kautz, and |
| 32 | WHEREAS, the school district has agreed to pay the |
| 33 | claimants, Claudia and Jeffrey Kautz, parents of decedent Diana |
| 34 | M. Kautz, the sum of $200,000, the maximum amount payable under |
| 35 | the waiver of sovereign immunity provided under s. 768.28, |
| 36 | Florida Statutes, and |
| 37 | WHEREAS, the amount remaining under the claim for damages |
| 38 | in the amount of $1.1 million is $900,000, a sum that the |
| 39 | District School Board of Palm Beach County has agreed to pay, |
| 40 | and |
| 41 | WHEREAS, the school district does not oppose the passage of |
| 42 | this act, NOW, THEREFORE, |
| 43 |
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| 44 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 45 |
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| 46 | Section 1. The facts stated in the preamble to this act |
| 47 | are found and declared to be true. |
| 48 | Section 2. The District School Board of Palm Beach County |
| 49 | is authorized and directed to appropriate from funds of the |
| 50 | school board not otherwise appropriated and to draw a warrant in |
| 51 | the sum of $900,000 payable to Claudia and Jeffrey Kautz, |
| 52 | parents of Diana M. Kautz, deceased, as compensation for |
| 53 | injuries and damages sustained as a result of the negligence of |
| 54 | an employee of the District School Board of Palm Beach County. |
| 55 | The settlement shall be paid as a single, one-time payment, and, |
| 56 | after payment of lobbying fees, attorney's fees, and costs as |
| 57 | limited by this act, the remaining moneys shall be distributed |
| 58 | as follows: |
| 59 | (1) Fifty percent shall be paid to Claudia Kautz, mother |
| 60 | of Diana M. Kautz, deceased; and |
| 61 | (2) Fifty percent shall be paid to Jeffrey Kautz, father |
| 62 | of Diana M. Kautz, deceased. |
| 63 | Section 3. Payment for the combined total of professional |
| 64 | services and costs incurred by attorneys, lobbyists, and agents |
| 65 | or representatives of attorneys or lobbyists shall not exceed |
| 66 | $161,410. |
| 67 | Section 4. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law. |