Fort Lauderdale premises liability attorney Tag Archives

The family of a teen foreign exchange student who was fatally shot outside of a nightclub in Portland, Ore. will be allowed to continue pursuit of their premises liability lawsuit following a new ruling by the Oregon Supreme Court.

Peruvian Martha Paz de Noboa Delgado was killed in 2009 as she waited outside of a teen nightclub with a group of other foreign exchange students. She had been dropped off at the location, reportedly in a rough part of town, by her host family. She was just 17-years-old. It was later revealed the 24-year-old gunman suffered from schizophrenia. He opened fire on the group of students, wounding seven and killing two before turning the gun on himself.

Delgado’s estate filed a wrongful death lawsuit, Piazza v. Kellim, against the nightclub and related companies, as well as against the foreign exchange organization. The $1.8 million claim argues that the owners of the club and related firms failed to take reasonable measures to protect customers. Namely, they forced young patrons to wait outside in what they knew was a high-crime area. The club and others nearby had a long history of problems with crime, and yet did not allow customers to wait inside for entry. The lawsuit further asserts the club did not have sufficient security. Against the student foreign exchange program, plaintiffs asserted a failure to provide adequate training to the host family. Continue reading →

When property owners or managers fail to ensure structures adhere to local and state building codes, there is a high potential for injury. After all, building codes are in place to keep us safe.

Generally, when injury results from a hazard that violates applicable building code standards, a strong case for premises liability can be made. The code itself can help establish constructive knowledge of a dangerous condition. Still, there are sometimes exceptions to the rule, which is why it’s so important to have an attorney with experience on your side.

In some instances, older buildings are allowed to avoid expensive updates to bring a property up-to-date with current codes, a process called being “grandfathered in.” But this does not shield a property owner or manager in all instances, and it definitely doesn’t excuse failure to warn of a dangerous condition that is not obvious to tenants or guests. This is true even in cases where plaintiff may share some degree of fault.

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Articles Tagged with Fort Lauderdale premises liability attorney

Piazza v. Kellim – Nightclub Shooting Liability Lawsuit

Powers v. 31 E 31 LLC – Building Code Violation and Premises Liability