Violent Crimes and Negligent Security

John Elliott Leighton, founder of Leighton Law, is a nationally recognized expert in the field of violent crime and negligent security litigation. Having litigated and tried negligent premises security cases for over 22 years, Mr. Leighton has lectured and taught trial lawyers throughout the country on ways to handle these cases. He is a published author in this field, havening authored numerous articles published in Trial magazine as well as other journals and publications. He is the author of Litigating Premises Security Cases (Thomson-West), a two volume text on how to investigate, handle, litigate and try inadequate premises security cases. It is the most comprehensive book in the field and widely used among trial lawyers throughout the country.

Mr. Leighton’s expertise in this field has been recognized by his peers. Besides being selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America, he has been elected as a Florida SuperLawyer™ each year (and in the top 100 Florida SuperLawyers), listed as a “Top Lawyer” in the South Florida Legal Guide, and selected for the “Florida Legal Elite Top Lawyers in Florida” by Florida Trend magazine. He was recently the recipient of the "Mover & Shaker" awrad from Business Leader magazine.

Since 1996 Mr. Leighton has served as Chairman of the Inadequate Security Litigation Group of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America (ATLA)/American Association for Justice (AAJ). He is also past Chairman of ATLA’s Motor Vehicle, Highway and Premises Liability Section.

A charter member of the National Crime Victim Bar Association (NCVBA), Mr. Leighton sits on the Association’s Advisory Board. In 2007 he was presented the “Advocate of Justice Award” in recognition of his commitment and success in representing victims of crime in civil cases.

In July 2009, Mr. Leighton chaired the Inadequate Security Education Program for the American Association for Justice and hosted crime victim advocate Fred Goldman as the keynote speaker.

Mr. Leighton’s expertise in representing crime victims has resulted in his being sought after to handle these cases in many states. In addition to routinely litigating and trying premises security cases throughout Florida, he has litigated these cases in Wisconsin, Indiana, Georgia, and Texas in state and federal courts.

The field of negligent premises security includes recovery for injuries caused by criminal assaults, rapes, sexual assaults, robberies and attacks due to inadequate premises security, inadequate lighting, improper premises or building design, and other inadequate conditions in commercial and residential premises. These frequently occur at hotels and motels, malls, shopping centers, apartment complexes, schools, stores, amusement parks, parking garages, gas stations/mini marts, resorts, airports, churches and office buildings.

In a negligent security cases, the plaintiff who has been injured due to a criminal act brings an action against the owner or manager of the premises or business. Those who are in control or in a position to prevent the incident where the plaintiff was injured are the parties who are most often defendants in a case like this.

Mr. Leighton has won numerous verdicts and settlements in cases arising from crime at malls, hotels, gas stations, convenience stores schools, shopping centers, apartments and businesses.

John Elliott Leighton represented the victim in the landmark case of Jeffery v. Publix. Tim Jeffery was working on a sprinkler system at a shopping center. He heard an elderly scream; when he looked over he saw a man grabbing her purse. Tim chased the robber, who quickly got into a waiting pickup truck. Tim chased after the truck, which became stuck behind cars in the parking lot. He pounded on the tinted window and demanded the return of the purse. The robber fired a shot through the window, striking Tim in the chest and nearly killing him. Tim made an excellent recovery, but was left with scarring and some vascular damage to his arm. Mr. Leighton filed suit based on the “rescue doctrine” for failure to have adequate security. The case against the shopping center landlord was settled for $125,000 and went to trial against the supermarket where the shooting took place (and where the woman had been shopping). Mr. Leighton obtained a verdict of $1,510,000 against supermarket. This was the first known instance where recovery was obtained in a negligent security case based on the “rescue doctrine.” Mr. Leighton’s success in this trial was recognized by being the featured case in an entire chapter of the book Persuasive Jury Communication: Case Studies From Successful Trials, Chapter 10: "Persuasion in a Premises Security Case" (Shepard's/McGraw-Hill, 1995).

In another inadequate security case, Mr. Leighton represented the family of a student at a major university who was killed in his on campus apartment by the former boyfriend of a girl he was seeing. Mr. Leighton’s investigation revealed that the university had inadequate security. The case settled for $1,500,000. Mr. Leighton then represented another student who was victimized. In that case, a young foreign student was attending a vocational school when he was shot and paralyzed during an attempted carjacking at the dormitory. Mr. Leighton won a $3,200,000 settlement on his behalf.

When a store clerk at an outlet mall was sexually assaulted in the store in the middle of the day, Mr. Leighton proved that the absence of security at the mall contributed to the crime. This resulted in a $1,136,000 recovery. In another case, a 24 year old youth counselor who was robbed and shot at a bank ATM was rendered a paraplegic. The defendant bank had considered a drive through ATM for several years but had decided it was not worth the expense. The perpetrator was high on drugs and alcohol and claimed security would not have deterred him from committing the crime and that the plaintiff resisted the robbery. Mr. Leighton successfully recovered $3,000,000 for this young man, thereby ensuring his financial security.

Mr. Leighton has successfully obtained jury verdicts for crime victims in state and federal courts. In one case, Louise Hubbard was walking to her car from her job at Sears in a major mal. A thief grabbed her purse and dragged her as he robbed her. She fell to the ground and suffered a knee injury. Mr. Leighton represented Louise in her case against the mall, and obtained a $600,000 verdict in federal court. Hubbard v. DeBartolo, U.S. District Court, Southern District of Florida. In another case in federal court, Mr. Leighton won a $300,000 verdict for a young girl who was sexually assaulted inside a K-mart store by a man impersonating an employee. DCM v. K-Mart Stores, U.S. District Court, Southern District of Florida.

In September 2009 Mr. Leighton won a $500,000 verdict on behalf of the family of a man shot by fleeing criminals after an armed robbery of a convenience store. Salomon v. Austin Trading Corp. (Palm Beach County Circuit Court)
John Elliott Leighton continues to litigate and try violent crime cases on behalf of plaintiffs. He also continues to publish articles and books, and teach other lawyers throughout the country on ways to represent crime victims.

Some of Mr. Leighton’s publications in the field of inadequate premises security and violent crime litigation include the following:

• J. Leighton, Litigating Premises Security Cases, Vol. 1 and 2, (Thomson-West Publishing, 2006; supplemented 2009) [Two volume treatise on premises security litigation]
• J. Leighton, ‟Apportionment of Fault in Inadequate Security Cases,” Victim Advocate, Vol. 4 No. 2, Fall 2003, pp. 3-6.
• J. Leighton, “Fighting New Defenses in Inadequate Security Cases,” Trial, Vol. 35, No. 4, April 2000, pp. 20-25.
• J. Leighton, “The Negligent Security Case: A Primer,” Association of Trial Lawyers of America Motor Vehicle, Highway and Premises Liability Section Quarterly, Vol. 5 No. 1, Winter 1999/2000, pp. 1-8.
• J. Leighton, “Identifying and Evaluating Inadequate Premises Liability Cases”, Association of Trial Lawyers of America Motor Vehicle, Highway and Premises Liability Section Quarterly, 1996.
• J. Leighton, “Preparing and Trying Inadequate Security Cases,” Trial Lawyers Quarterly, Vol. 25 No. 24, New York State Trial Lawyers Association (Summer 1995).

Mr. Leighton’s many lectures and speeches in this field include the following:

"Sex, Drugs & Violence: Inadequate Premises Security Litigation in Florida," Daily Business Review Seminar, Miami, Florida, October 2009.

“Presenting Tragic Violence at Trial: Closing Argument in Security and Violent Crime Cases,” National Crime Victim Bar Association, 2008 National Conference, Chicago, IL, October 2008.

“Sex, Drugs & Violence; What You Need to Know about Violent Crime Cases and Negligent Premises Security Litigation,” Florida Facilities Managers Association, Annual Meeting, Palm Beach, FL, June 2008.

“Standing Up for a Fair Jury: Voir Dire in Security Cases,” American Association for Justice, Annual Convention, Chicago, IL, July 2007.

“Picking Civil Juries for Crime Victims,” National Crime Victim Bar Association Annual Conference, Washington, DC, June 2007.

“Inadequate Security Litigation,” New Jersey Trial Lawyers Association, Boardwalk Seminar, Atlantic City, NJ, April 2007.

Keynote Speaker, National Crime Victims’ Rights Week, “Victims’ Rights Conference,” State Attorney’s Office - Eleventh Judicial Circuit, Miami, FL April 2007.

“Insurance Issues in Inadequate Premises Security Cases,” Association of Trial Lawyers of America, Annual Convention, Seattle, WA, July 2006.

“Civil Remedies for Criminal Acts,” National Center for Victims of Crime, Victim Advocate Training Program, Fort Lauderdale, FL, January 2006.

“Comparing “Fault” – Current Status of Efforts to Include Perpetrators on Verdict Forms...Restatement Approach; Legislation; Case Law; Comparison to Crashworthiness Doctrine,” Association of Trial Lawyers of America, Annual Convention, Toronto, Canada, July 2005.

‟Screening, Selecting and Investigating Inadequate Security Cases: What to Look For Before Taking A Case,” Association of Trial Lawyers of America, Annual Convention, Boston, MA, July 2004.

“Apportionment of Fault,” Premises Liability: Inadequate Security Cases, ATLA/National College of Advocacy Teleseminar, May 2004.

“Jury Selection: Negligent Security,” Academy of Florida Trial Lawyers Everything You Wanted To Know About Jury Selection seminar, Ft. Lauderdale, FL, March 2004.

‟Apportionment of Fault in Inadequate Security Cases,” National Crime Victim Bar Association 2003 National Conference: Rights, Recourse & Recovery: Civil Litigation for Victims of Crime, Washington, DC, October 2003.

Course Chairman and Lecturer, “Finding, Selecting and Handling Expert Witnesses,” Premises Liability: Inadequate Security and Violent Crimes, National College of Advocacy/Association of Trial Lawyers of America, Miami, FL, March 2001.

“Apportionment of Fault: How To Deal with Placing The Perpetrator on the Verdict Form in Inadequate Security Cases”, Association of Trial Lawyers of America, Annual Convention, San Francisco, CA, July 1999.

“Investigating, Preparing and Litigating the Inadequate Security Case,” Kansas Trial Lawyers Association Premises Liability Seminar, Overland Park, Kansas, June 1998. “ATLA Hornbook Series: Inadequate Premises Security”, Association of Trial Lawyers of America, Winter Convention, Maui, Hawaii, February 1998

Course Chairman and Lecturer, “Terror in the Sky: Security Aboard Airplanes and in Airports,” Mega Seminar: Premises Liability: Inadequate Security and Violent Crimes, Association of Trial Lawyers of America, Las Vegas, NV, February 1997.

“Top 10 Things to Look (and Look Out) For in Evaluating Inadequate Security Cases,” Association of Trial Lawyers of America, Annual Convention, Boston, MA, July 1996.

“Preparing, Litigating and Trying the Negligent Security Case,” Association of Trial Lawyers of America, Annual Convention, New York, NY, July 1995.

For a complete list of Mr. Leighton’s speeches and publications, go to our Attorney Profile section.