Florida Senate - 2016                              (NP)    SB 60
       
       
        
       By Senator Abruzzo
       
       
       
       
       
       25-00198-16                                             201660__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act for the relief of Robert Champion, Sr., and Pam
    3         Champion by Florida Agricultural and Mechanical
    4         University; providing an appropriation to compensate
    5         Robert Champion, Sr., and Pam Champion, individually
    6         and as personal representatives of the Estate of
    7         Robert Champion, Jr., for the wrongful death of their
    8         son, Robert Champion, Jr., due to the negligence of
    9         Florida A & M University; providing a limitation on
   10         the payment of fees and costs; providing that the
   11         appropriation settles all present and future claims
   12         related to the wrongful death of Robert Champion, Jr.;
   13         providing an effective date.
   14  
   15         WHEREAS, in 2011, Robert Champion, Jr., was a 26-year-old
   16  student at Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University and a
   17  drum major in the university’s marching band, the “Marching
   18  100,” and
   19         WHEREAS, on November 19, 2011, as part of a university
   20  sponsored trip, Robert Champion, Jr., traveled to Orlando on a
   21  university-chartered bus with the “Marching 100” to perform
   22  during the halftime show at the Florida Classic, the annual
   23  college football game between Bethune-Cookman University and
   24  Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University, and
   25         WHEREAS, after performing at the Florida Classic, Robert
   26  Champion, Jr., boarded the university-chartered bus designated
   27  as “Bus C” and was brutally assaulted by fellow band members and
   28  Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University students in a
   29  hazing ritual known as the “cross-over,” and
   30         WHEREAS, the cross-over consisted of forcing Robert
   31  Champion, Jr., to run from the front to the back of the bus
   32  while being punched, pummeled, kicked, struck, and pushed by
   33  fellow band members and Florida Agricultural and Mechanical
   34  University students, and
   35         WHEREAS, Robert Champion, Jr., sustained serious injuries
   36  during the cross-over and died an hour later of hemorrhagic
   37  shock due to soft tissue hemorrhage from blunt force trauma, and
   38         WHEREAS, the administration of Florida Agricultural and
   39  Mechanical University was aware that an entrenched culture of
   40  hazing existed at the university and, specifically, in the
   41  “Marching 100,” and incidents of hazing had resulted in
   42  complaints from band members and their families, repeated
   43  injuries to band members, and lawsuits, and
   44         WHEREAS, approximately 2 weeks before the 2011 Florida
   45  Classic, the university’s band director, Dr. Julian White,
   46  notified the administration of Florida Agricultural and
   47  Mechanical University of hazing activities that had occurred in
   48  two sections of the band at the October 2011 Homecoming football
   49  game, but the university failed to take any action to suspend
   50  the activities of the band before the Florida Classic, and
   51         WHEREAS, on December 28, 2012, prompted by the death of
   52  Robert Champion, Jr., Derry Harper, the inspector general of the
   53  State University System Board of Governors, released the results
   54  of an investigation into hazing at Florida Agricultural and
   55  Mechanical University which was based upon more than a decade of
   56  hazing reports and an analysis of the effectiveness of
   57  university regulations, and
   58         WHEREAS, the investigation found that there was poor
   59  communication among departments critical to the development and
   60  enforcement of antihazing policies, that there was a lack of
   61  clear rules on how to handle hazing complaints, that incidents
   62  of hazing on campus were not tracked despite a history of the
   63  practice, that hazing allegations investigated by campus police
   64  were not shared with the office that handled student discipline,
   65  and that band member eligibility was seldom, if ever, verified,
   66  and
   67         WHEREAS, the inspector general concluded that, due to a
   68  lack of effective institutional and internal controls designed
   69  to prevent, detect, deter, and discipline students involved in
   70  hazing, Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University failed to
   71  implement an antihazing program that complied with Board of
   72  Governors regulations, university regulations, and applicable
   73  state law and
   74         WHEREAS, as a direct result of Florida Agricultural and
   75  Mechanical University’s failure to develop adequate hazing
   76  policies or enforce policies already in place, Robert Champion,
   77  Jr., was fatally hazed by fellow band members and Florida
   78  Agricultural and Mechanical University students, and
   79         WHEREAS, in May 2012, 13 band members and Florida
   80  Agricultural and Mechanical University students were criminally
   81  charged with hazing that resulted in the death of Robert
   82  Champion, Jr., and
   83         WHEREAS, Robert Champion, Sr., and Pam Champion, parents of
   84  Robert Champion, Jr., have suffered the loss of support,
   85  services, and companionship of their son and endured mental pain
   86  and suffering since the date of their son’s death and will
   87  continue to suffer such losses in the future due to the
   88  negligence of Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University,
   89  and
   90         WHEREAS, the Estate of Robert Champion, Jr., seeks to
   91  recover damages for medical expenses, funeral expenses, and loss
   92  of earnings, and
   93         WHEREAS, on February 13, 2012, Robert Champion, Sr., and
   94  Pam Champion, individually and as personal representatives of
   95  the Estate of Robert Champion, Jr., filed an action against the
   96  Board of Trustees of Florida Agricultural and Mechanical
   97  University in the Circuit Court of the Ninth Judicial Circuit,
   98  Orange County, styled Robert Champion et al. v. A Ray Land
   99  Productions Company et al., Case No. 2012-CA-002346-O, to
  100  recover damages for the wrongful death of their son, Robert
  101  Champion Jr., and
  102         WHEREAS, the parties are negotiating but have been unable
  103  to reach a settlement in the case, and
  104         WHEREAS, Robert Champion, Sr., and Pam Champion,
  105  individually and as personal representatives of the Estate of
  106  Robert Champion, Jr., are entitled to damages for the wrongful
  107  death of their son, Robert Champion, Jr., NOW, THEREFORE,
  108  
  109  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
  110  
  111         Section 1. The facts stated in the preamble to this act are
  112  found and declared to be true.
  113         Section 2. Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University
  114  is authorized and directed to appropriate from funds of the
  115  university not otherwise appropriated and to draw a warrant in
  116  the amount of _____________, payable to Robert Champion, Sr.,
  117  and Pam Champion, as compensation for the wrongful death of
  118  their son, Robert Champion, Jr., due to the negligence of
  119  Florida A & M University.
  120         Section 3. The total amount paid for attorney fees,
  121  lobbying fees, costs, and other similar expenses relating to
  122  this claim may not exceed 25 percent of the amount awarded under
  123  this act.
  124         Section 4. The compensation awarded under this act is
  125  intended to provide the sole compensation for all present and
  126  future claims arising out of the factual situation described in
  127  this act which resulted in the wrongful death of Robert
  128  Champion, Jr.
  129         Section 5. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.