Senate Bill sb0042
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Florida Senate - 2007 SB 42
By Senator Aronberg
27-67-07
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to the Office of the Sheriff of
3 Collier County; providing for the relief of J.
4 Rae Hoyer, individually, and as Personal
5 Representative of the Estate of David J. Hoyer,
6 M.D., deceased, whose demise was due in part to
7 negligence on the part of the Sheriff of
8 Collier County; providing an effective date.
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10 WHEREAS, on January 3, 2001, Dr. David J. Hoyer was
11 strangled in the Collier County jail by Rodriguez Patten, an
12 inmate at the Collier County Jail, and Dr. Hoyer died on
13 January 6, 2001, as a result of the manual strangulation and
14 injuries inflicted on him by inmate Patten, and
15 WHEREAS, Dr. Hoyer, a 58-year-old psychiatrist who
16 worked for the David Lawrence Center, a not-for-profit mental
17 health center located in Collier County, had been appointed by
18 the State of Florida to perform a forensic mental health
19 evaluation to determine whether inmate Patten was competent to
20 stand trial on charges of carjacking, kidnapping, and robbery,
21 and
22 WHEREAS, Dr. Hoyer was placed in a small interview room
23 with the inmate, who suffered from delusions and had been a
24 chronic problem at the jail; there were no guards posted
25 inside or outside the room maintaining visual observation of
26 Dr. Hoyer and the inmate; and there were no other safeguards
27 to protect Dr. Hoyer, no handcuffs or restraints of any sort
28 on inmate Patten, and no other monitoring of the interview
29 room, and
30 WHEREAS, on July 3, 2002, Dr. Hoyer's widow, J. Rae
31 Hoyer, individually, and as Personal Representative of the
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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
Florida Senate - 2007 SB 42
27-67-07
1 Estate of David J. Hoyer, filed suit against Don Hunter, as
2 Sheriff of Collier County, and
3 WHEREAS, the matter was removed to the United States
4 District Court, Middle District of Florida, Ft. Myers
5 Division, and litigated, and, after a 5-day jury trial, a
6 verdict was returned on May 10, 2005, in the amount of
7 $2,650,260, and
8 WHEREAS, Sheriff Hunter was found to be 50-percent
9 comparatively at fault for causing Dr. Hoyer's death, and
10 WHEREAS, a judgment in the civil case was entered on
11 May 16, 2005, in the amount of $1,325,130, and an order on
12 taxation of costs was entered on June 21, 2005, in the amount
13 of $3,912.44, making a total judgment in favor of Mrs. Hoyer
14 in the amount of $1,329,042.44, and
15 WHEREAS, after the sheriff has paid the statutory limit
16 of $200,000 under section 768.28, Florida Statutes, the
17 remaining amount of the judgment will be $1,129,042.44, and
18 WHEREAS, a motion for new trial was denied on July 18,
19 2005, and
20 WHEREAS, the Sheriff of Collier County has insurance
21 coverage in the amount of $3.1 million, which could be used to
22 satisfy the judgment that has been awarded in this matter,
23 NOW, THEREFORE,
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25 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
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27 Section 1. The facts stated in the preamble to this
28 act are found and declared to be true.
29 Section 2. The Sheriff of Collier County is authorized
30 and directed to appropriate from funds of the sheriff's office
31 not otherwise appropriated and to draw a warrant payable to J.
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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
Florida Senate - 2007 SB 42
27-67-07
1 Rae Hoyer, individually, and as Personal Representative of the
2 Estate of David J. Hoyer, M.D., for the total amount of
3 $1,129,042.44, for injuries and damages sustained due to the
4 death of David J. Hoyer.
5 Section 3. This act shall take effect upon becoming a
6 law.
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