11-006175CB In Re: Senate Bill 1076 (Estate Of Juan Carlos Rivera, Anais Cruz Peinado, Personal Representative) vs. * Status: Closed Settled and/or Dismissed prior to entry of RO/FO on Wednesday, March 28, 2012.

THE FLORIDA SENATE

SPECIAL MASTER ON CLAIM BILLS

Location

40 2 Senate Office Building

Mailing Address

404 South Monroe Street

Tallahassee, Florida 32399 - 1100

(850) 487 - 5237

DATE COMM ACTION

01/27 /1 2 SM Unf avorable

January 27, 2012

The Honorable Mike Haridopolos

President, The Florida Senate

Suite 409, The Capitol

Tallahassee, Florida 32399 - 1100

Re : SB 1076 (2012) Î Senator Audrey Gibson

Relief of Anais Cruz Peinado by the School Board of Miami - Dade

County

SPECIAL MASTERÓS FINAL REPORT

THIS IS AN UNOPPOSED CLAI M FOR $1,175,000 IN

LOCAL FU NDS FOR THE RELIEF O F ANAIS CRUZ

PEINADO, AS PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE OF TH E

ESTATE OF JUAN CARLO S RIVERA . THE CLAIM IS

BASED ON A COURT - APPROVED SETTL EMENT. JUAN

CARLOS RIVERA DIED AFTER HE WAS STABBED BY

A NOTHER STUDENT WHILE ATTENDING SCHOOL .

FINDINGS OF FACT: Juan Carlos Rivera was born in Cuba in 1992, and raised in

Havana . When he was approaching the age of 16, which is

the age for mandatory enlistment in the Cuban National

Service, he left Cuba to live with his father in Spain. After a

year in Spain, he moved to Miami, Flor ida .

Once he arrived in Miami, he was enrolled at Coral Gables

High School, and began school in the Fall of 2009. On

September 1 5, 2009, Juan Carlos was walking down a

hallway, in the process of changing classes, when he

encountered a fellow stud ent named Andy Rodriguez , and a

fist fight ensued. T he fist fight started in the hallway (known

as the Ð700 HallwayÑ) , but within seconds, turned a corner

and spilled out into a courtyard. Once in the courtyard, Andy

Rodriguez pulled out a knif e and stabbed Juan Carlos five

SPECIAL MASTERÓS FINAL REPORT Î SB 1076 (2012)

January 27, 2012

Page 2

times. First Responders reported that Juan C arlos, just

before dying, insisted that he was a victim in the incident,

and that he had acted in self defense. He was 17 years old

when he died.

The high school has security cameras throughout the

premises, has hall monitors for almost all hallways and

areas, and asks teachers to monitor change overs by

standing in the doorway of their classrooms as students

move from class to class. The school also has a School

Police Officer present at the school every day . T he 700

hallway , wh ere the fight began , did not have a security

camera . This particular hallway did not have any hall

monitors or teachers monitoring the hallway while students

changed classes because no classrooms were located in

that hallway. In the courtyard, however, which is where Juan

Carlos was stabbed, there were security cameras that did

capture the incid ent . On the day of the stabbing, the Schoo l

Police Officer assigned to the school was not present

because he was on administrative leave .

Andy Rodriguez had been suspended from school seven

times in three years, with a few of those suspe nsions

resulting from fighting. He had never been found to carry a

weapon to school. The school had no knowledge of

arguments or tension between Juan Carlos and Andy

Rodriguez, as Juan Carlos was a new student at Coral

Gables High School. Andy Rodriguez was found guilty of

second degree murder and was sentenced to 40 years in

prison.

LITIGATION HISTORY: A Complaint and Request for Jury Trial was filed in the 11th

Judicial Circuit for Miami - Dade County on behalf of Juan

CarlosÓs estate on April 25, 2010. The parties settled the

case prior to going to trial, for $1,875,000.

Following the approval of the settlement agreement by the

circuit court, the Miami - Dade County School Board tendered

$200,000 to Claimant. The insurance carrier for the Miami -

Dade County School Board tendered $500,000 to Claimant.

Twenty - f ive percen t of the amount paid was de ducted for

attorney's fees and costs.

SPECIAL MASTERÓS FINAL REPORT Î SB 1076 (2012)

January 27, 2012

Page 3

CLAIMANTÓS POSITION: The Miami - Dade County School Board has an absolute duty

to keep its students safe based on the doctrine of in loco

parentis . The School Board is liable for negligently securing

Coral Gables High School, which caused Juan Carlos

RiveraÓs death . It was foreseeable that Andy Rodriguez

would act violently, and that a fight could break out which

would include weapons. The School Board was negligent

f or (1) failing to have security monitors in the Ð700 HallwayÑ;

(2) failing to monitor the security cameras; (3) failing to place

hall monitors in the 700 hallway; and (4) failing to install

metal detectors or conduct random wanding of students.

RESPONDEN T'S POSITION: The Miami - Dade County School Board does not admit

liability in this case, and does not support or object to the

passage of this claim bill.

CONCLUSIONS OF LAW: The claim bill hearing was a de novo proceeding for the

purpose of determining, based on the evidence presented to

the Special Master, whether t he Miami - Dade County School

Board was liable in neglig ence for the death of Juan Carlos

Rivera, and, if so, whether the amount of the claim is

reasonable.

Proximate cause is a cause which, in natural and continuous

sequence, is unbroken by any intervening cause, produces

the injury, and without which the injury would not have

occurred. A willful, malicious, or crimina l act as a general

rule breaks the chain of caus ation, because of a lack of

foreseeability. See Lingefelt v. Hanner , 125 So. 2d 325 (Fla.

3d DCA 1960). The School Board had taken reasonable

measures to secure the school grounds at Coral Gables

High School . It was not foreseeable that Andy Rodriguez

would bring a weapon to school, that he would get into a fist

fight with Juan Carlos, or that he would pull out a knife and

kill him.

The failure of the School Board to install metal detectors, or

install more security cameras, cannot be a basis for a finding

of negligence. The legislative decision of a governmental

entity to not appropriate funds to build, expand or modernize

a facilit y is immune from liability for negligence . Trianon

Park Condominium AssÓn v. City of Hialeah , 468 So. 2d 912

(Fla. 1985). Furthermore, h ad there been a security camera

in the 700 hallway, it merely would have recorded the fight,

not prevented it.

SPECIAL MASTERÓS FINAL REPORT Î SB 1076 (2012)

January 27, 2012

Page 4

The pa yment of a claim bill is an act of legislative grace. In

deciding whether this claim should be paid, the Senate

should consider the fact that the legal liability of the School

Board was not proven. The criminal act committed by Andy

Rodriguez was not fore seeable, and it was an independent

intervening cause of Juan CarlosÓs de ath . In addition, t he

estate has already received $700,000 in compen sation for

Juan CarlosÓs tragic death .

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: This is the first claim bill presented to the Senate in this

matter.

ATTORNEYS FEES: The ClaimantÓs attorneys have agreed to limit their fees to 25

percent of any amount awarded by the Legislature in

compliance with s. 768.28(8), Florida Statutes. No lobbyist

fees will be paid.

SOURCE OF FUNDS: If Senate Bill 1076 is appr oved, the Miami - Dade County

School Board will pay the amount from its General Revenue

Fund .

RECOMMENDATIONS: For the reason s set forth above, Senate Bill 1076 (2012)

should be reported UN FAVORABLY.

Respectfully submitted,

Jessica Enciso Varn

Senate Special Master

cc: Senator Audrey Gibson

Debbie Brown , Secretary of the Senate

Counsel of Record