Florida Senate - 2020 (NP) CS for SB 4
By the Committee on Judiciary; and Senator Flores
590-03957-20 20204c1
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act for the relief of Dontrell Stephens through
3 Evett L. Simmons, as guardian of his property, by the
4 Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office; providing for an
5 appropriation to compensate him for personal injuries
6 and damages sustained as the result of the negligence
7 of a deputy of the office; providing a limitation on
8 the payment of compensation, fees, and costs;
9 providing an effective date.
10
11 WHEREAS, on September 13, 2013, Dontrell Stephens, then age
12 20, was shot four times by Palm Beach County Deputy Sheriff
13 Adams Lin during an encounter in West Palm Beach, and
14 WHEREAS, the last of the bullets fired at Mr. Stephens
15 entered his back, severing his spinal cord and rendering him
16 permanently paraplegic, and
17 WHEREAS, during testimony at trial, Deputy Sheriff Lin
18 stated that he mistook a cellphone for a handgun, and such
19 testimony was found to be not credible and was unanimously
20 rejected by the jury, and
21 WHEREAS, Mr. Stephens’ testimony, corroborated by video
22 from Deputy Sheriff Lin’s dashboard camera and physical evidence
23 at the scene, establishes that the only offense committed by Mr.
24 Stephens was a noncriminal bicycle infraction, that he was
25 unarmed, and that he posed no reasonable threat to Deputy
26 Sheriff Lin, and
27 WHEREAS, Mr. Stephens currently resides in a homeless
28 shelter and relies exclusively on public assistance and hospital
29 emergency room services to meet his extensive health care needs,
30 and
31 WHEREAS, Mr. Stephens will require a lifetime of medical,
32 therapeutic, rehabilitative, and nursing care, and his future
33 life expectancy exceeds 50 years, and
34 WHEREAS, following a trial that lasted from January 25,
35 2016, until February 4, 2016, the jury in the case, brought on
36 behalf of Mr. Stephens against Ric Bradshaw in his capacity as
37 Sheriff of Palm Beach County, awarded Mr. Stephens compensatory
38 damages resulting in the entry of a final judgment in the amount
39 of $22,431,892.05, plus postjudgment interest and costs, and
40 WHEREAS, in an opinion rendered on January 10, 2018, with
41 rehearing en banc denied on September 10, 2018, the United
42 States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit affirmed the
43 factual findings and the judgment of the trial court in the
44 case, and
45 WHEREAS, in the 5 years since being paralyzed, Mr. Stephens
46 has incurred more than $1.4 million in unpaid expenses for his
47 care and treatment, and
48 WHEREAS, in accordance with the statutory limits of
49 liability set forth in s. 768.28, Florida Statutes, Ric
50 Bradshaw, in his capacity as Sheriff of Palm Beach County, has
51 paid $200,000 toward the total amount of this claim, NOW,
52 THEREFORE,
53
54 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
55
56 Section 1. The facts stated in the preamble to this act are
57 found and declared to be true.
58 Section 2. The Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office is
59 authorized and directed to appropriate from funds of the Palm
60 Beach County Sheriff’s Office not otherwise encumbered and to
61 draw a warrant in the sum of $4.5 million as follows: up to $3
62 million payable to Evett L. Simmons, as guardian of the property
63 of Dontrell Stephens, to purchase a life care plan for Dontrell
64 Stephens as compensation for injuries and damages sustained; and
65 $1.5 million to pay attorney fees, lobbying fees, and costs
66 relating to this claim.
67 Section 3. The amount paid by the Palm Beach County
68 Sheriff’s Office pursuant to s. 768.28, Florida Statutes, and
69 the amount awarded under this act are intended to provide the
70 sole compensation for all present and future claims arising out
71 of the factual situation described in this act which resulted in
72 injuries suffered by Dontrell Stephens. The total amount paid
73 for attorney fees relating to this claim may not exceed 25
74 percent of the amount awarded under this act.
75 Section 4. Excluding the federal portions of any liens,
76 Medicaid or otherwise, which the claimant must pay, it is the
77 intent of the Legislature that the lien interests relating to
78 the treatment and care of Dontrell Stephens are hereby waived
79 and extinguished.
80 Section 5. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.