$1,510,000 Verdict – Inadequate Security Case: Parking Lot Shooting (Aventura, FL)

Sometimes doing the right thing ends up with a tragic result.  Such was the situation with Tim Jeffery, a true American hero.

Tim Jeffery was working on a sprinkler system near the Aventura Mall when he heard an elderly woman scream in front of a Publix Supermarket. He watched as a man grabbed her purse and ran into a waiting truck.

He chased the truck on foot in the parking lot and banged on the darkly tinted window demanding a return of the woman’s purse.  A shot rang out from inside the pickup truck. He was shot by the robber in the chest, nearly causing his death. Fortunately, this heroic man survived and made an excellent recovery. Tim was left with some scarring and discomfort in his arm.

John Leighton was hired to represent Tim and his wife.  He investigated the case and the location where the crimes took place.  He was able to determine that there had been several other violent crimes at and near this area.  He tried the case to a Miami jury. He demonstrated at trial that the security was lacking and there had been prior complaints of crime in the area where this took place. The jury awarded Tim $1,510,000. This is the first known application of the “rescue doctrine” in an inadequate security case in the United States. Prior to trial a confidential settlement was obtained from the landlord. Jeffery v. Publix Supermarkets.

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).

 

 

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