Florida Senate - 2022 (NP) SB 84 By Senator Gruters 23-00243A-22 202284__ 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act for the relief of victims of the Marjory 3 Stoneman Douglas High School mass casualty incident, 4 by the School Board of Broward County; providing for 5 an appropriation to compensate them for injuries 6 sustained as a result of the negligence of the School 7 Board of Broward County; specifying the claimants 8 among whom the compensation will be allocated; 9 providing a limitation on compensation and the payment 10 of attorney fees; providing an effective date. 11 12 WHEREAS, the School Board of Broward County owned, 13 possessed, and controlled the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High 14 School campus premises on February 14, 2018, and 15 WHEREAS, the School Board of Broward County had a duty of 16 reasonable care toward those permissibly on the school premises, 17 including a duty to reasonably protect students, teachers, and 18 staff from reasonably foreseeable physical harm by intruders on 19 the campus, and 20 WHEREAS, on the afternoon of February 14, 2018, Nikolas 21 Cruz, a former Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School student, 22 trespassed on the campus while carrying a loaded firearm, 23 entered the 1200 building, went on a shooting spree that killed 24 and injured multiple students and teachers, and then fled the 25 scene, after which he was apprehended by law enforcement 26 officers, and 27 WHEREAS, this tragic mass casualty incident resulted in the 28 deaths of fourteen students and three teachers, making this the 29 deadliest high school shooting in United States history, and 30 WHEREAS, some teachers and students suffered gunshot 31 related injuries, and others suffered posttraumatic stress from 32 this event, and 33 WHEREAS, the negligence of the School Board of Broward 34 County contributed to the damages suffered as a result of the 35 events of February 14, 2018, at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High 36 School, to the extent that School Board of Broward County 37 personnel had information regarding the risk of Nikolas Cruz 38 committing acts of physical harm and violence toward others but 39 failed to take reasonably appropriate action to protect the 40 campus from Nikolas Cruz; were unprepared to deal with repeat 41 trespassers and intruders on campus, such as former students 42 like Nikolas Cruz; were unprepared to address armed intruders on 43 campus; failed to prevent Nikolas Cruz from entering the campus 44 and failed to intercept Nikolas Cruz once he did enter; and were 45 unprepared to respond in the event of an active shooter on 46 campus, and 47 WHEREAS, the claimants specified in this act and the School 48 Board of Broward County intend to resolve, compromise, and 49 settle the claim against the School Board of Broward County by 50 way of a stipulated settlement agreement providing for the entry 51 of a consent final judgment in favor of the claimants and 52 against the School Board of Broward County in the aggregate sum 53 of $25 million, to be paid in total over three installments, 54 including two payments of $8,333,333.33, under which the School 55 Board of Broward County will make the first payment within 60 56 days after this act becomes a law and will make the second 57 payment no later than 1 year after the date of the first 58 payment; and a third payment of $8,333,333.34 no later than 1 59 year after the date of the second payment, and 60 WHEREAS, the claimants intend to agree to a process by 61 which the aggregate sum and each of the three installment 62 payments will be allocated, and 63 WHEREAS, the amounts specified in this act are not intended 64 to constitute full and complete compensation to any victims for 65 their damages, but are intended to satisfy only the claims by 66 the claimants specified in this act against the School Board of 67 Broward County and the School Board of Broward County’s share of 68 fault, without regard to any claims of the claimants against 69 other responsible parties and without regard to the liability of 70 others, and 71 WHEREAS, the actions of others may have caused or 72 contributed to the damages resulting from the events of February 73 14, 2018, at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, and the 74 amounts specified in this act do not prevent any victims from 75 seeking recoveries from such responsible parties or seeking 76 further claim bills in connection with claims against such 77 responsible parties, and 78 WHEREAS, the parties intend for the settlement to be 79 partially satisfied in the amount of $300,000, representing the 80 statutory limit that may be paid by the School Board of Broward 81 County pursuant to s. 768.28, Florida Statutes, absent further 82 act of the Legislature, and 83 WHEREAS, the respective claims of the claimants specified 84 in this act against the School Board of Broward County shall be 85 considered fully satisfied upon payment of the aggregate sum by 86 the School Board of Broward County as provided in this act, 87 pursuant to a claim bill authorized by the Legislature, and 88 WHEREAS, the parties acknowledge that a settlement 89 agreement and consent final judgment must be approved, and 90 WHEREAS, the School Board of Broward County has agreed not 91 to oppose or object to the passage of this act, will cooperate 92 in and support passage of this act, and has agreed to make a 93 good faith effort to provide testimony to the Legislature as 94 requested, NOW, THEREFORE, 95 96 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 97 98 Section 1. The facts stated in the preamble to this act are 99 found and declared to be true. 100 Section 2. The School Board of Broward County is authorized 101 and directed to appropriate from funds not otherwise encumbered 102 and to draw a warrant in the aggregate sum of $25 million, to be 103 paid in total over three installments with the School Board of 104 Broward County making the first payment of $8,333,333.33 within 105 60 days after this act becomes a law and making the second 106 payment of $8,333,333.33 no later than 1 year after the date of 107 the first payment, and a third payment of $8,333,333.34 no later 108 than 1 year after the date of the second payment, payable to the 109 Grossman Roth Yaffa Cohen, P.A., Trust Account for the benefit 110 of the claimants of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School 111 mass casualty incident of February 14, 2018, specified in this 112 act as compensation for injuries and damages sustained. 113 Section 3. The following claimants intend to agree to a 114 process to allow for the allocation of the aggregate sum and, 115 accordingly, each of the three installment payments: 116 (1) The Estate of Peter Wang; 117 (2) The Estate of Gina Rose Montalto; 118 (3) The Estate of Cara Marie Loughran; 119 (4) The Estate of Alyssa Alhadeff; 120 (5) The Estate of Scott Beigel; 121 (6) The Estate of Joaquin Oliver; 122 (7) The Estate of Martin Duque Anguiano; 123 (8) The Estate of Nicholas Dworet; 124 (9) The Estate of Aaron Feis; 125 (10) The Estate of Christopher Hixon; 126 (11) The Estate of Jaime Guttenberg; 127 (12) The Estate of Luke Hoyer; 128 (13) The Estate of Alaina Petty; 129 (14) The Estate of Meadow Pollack; 130 (15) The Estate of Helena Ramsay; 131 (16) The Estate of Alex Schachter; 132 (17) The Estate of Carmen Schentrup; 133 (18) Ashley Baez; 134 (19) Isabel Chequer; 135 (20) Justin Colton; 136 (21) Alexander Dworet; 137 (22) Samantha Fuentes; 138 (23) Samantha Grady; 139 (24) Marian Kabachenko; 140 (25) Kyle Laman; 141 (26) Stacey Lippel; 142 (27) Samantha Mayor; 143 (28) Daniela Menescal; 144 (29) William Olson; 145 (30) Benjamin Wikander; 146 (31) Madeleine Wilford; 147 (32) Felicia Burgin; 148 (33) Giulia Garcia; 149 (34) J.H.; 150 (35) Madison King; 151 (36) Hayden Korr; 152 (37) A.P.; 153 (38) Elizabeth Stout; 154 (39) Dominic Timpone; 155 (40) Alessandra Weber; 156 (41) M.W.; 157 (42) Noah Pace; 158 (43) Zachary London; 159 (44) Jacob Schwartz; 160 (45) Nicole Carrillo; 161 (46) Samara Barrack; 162 (47) Victoria Alvarez; 163 (48) Emely Vasquez; 164 (49) Chloe Leffler; 165 (50) Lucio Carrillo; and 166 (51) Ivy Schamis. 167 Section 4. The amount paid by the School Board of Broward 168 County pursuant to s. 768.28, Florida Statutes, and the amount 169 awarded under this act are intended to provide the sole 170 compensation for all present and future claims arising out of 171 the factual situation described in this act which resulted in 172 injuries and damages to the claimants of the Marjory Stoneman 173 Douglas High School mass casualty incident of February 14, 2018, 174 specified in this act. The total amount paid by each of the 175 claimants specified in this act for attorney fees, inclusive of 176 lobbying fees, relating to his or her claim may not exceed 25 177 percent of the total amount allocated to each claimant under 178 this act. 179 Section 5. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.