02-24-2005 VC SP-M1
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CHRISTINE CASAMENTO
and
VILLAGE OF NORTH PALM BEACH
Village of North Palm Beach, Florida
February 24, 2005
7:30 o'clock P.M.
APPEARANCES:
KENNETH P. CARMAN, ESQ.
ALFRED R. BELL, ESQ.
ED EISSEY, COUNCILMAN
ROB RENNEBAUM, COUNCILMAN
CHARLES O'MEILIA, COUNCILMAN
DONALD NOEL, COUNCILMAN
MARK BATES, COUNCILMAN
DAVIS NORRIS, ESQ, COUNCILMAN
SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING
FOR APPROVAL OF SETTLEMENT
ORIGINAL
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Thereupon:
The following proceedings were had:
MR. BELL: Gentlemen, in the case of
Christine Casamento-versus the Village of North
Palm Beach, the third party claims administrator
and the attorneys have reached a proposed
settlement of which I need your advice and
guidance.
This matter arises from a woman who was
roller blading in the streets or on the sidewalks
of North Palm Beach back in February of 2001.
There was a difference in the elevation of the
sidewalk out by a tree on Lighthouse Drive right
at the outskirts of the border of the Village and
Palm Beach Gardens.
In fact, one of the problems that came to
light was that the Village had been operating
under the assumption that it was indeed part of
Palm Beach Gardens for approximately 20 years
because Palm Beach Gardens had been mowing that
area.
There was a ficus tree there, as you may
know, and that had caused a lifting of the
sidewalk.
The Village has a duty to maintain the
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sidewalks within the Village and had done so over
the years past, including grinding down various
problems that came to light.
In the present case this particular young
lady was roller blading one evening with a
companion. She slowed down when she saw some sand
and leaves and tripped and fell, fracturing her
right patella which is the kneecap.
She underwent some treatment. For about six
to eight weeks she was in a brace and then she had
physical therapy and she continued to have
problems.
As far as her damages go, her medical
expenses are roughly $5,000 and are expected to
increase over the course of time according to her
doctors.
We had hoped that we would have an orthopedic
surgeon give us a positive opinion that her
fracture healed and that she was fine. However,
the orthopedic surgeon who has done many of these
types of examinations found that she had symptoms
and issues consistent with chondromalacia of the
patella and that she would continue to have
problems over the course of time.
This young woman is very attractive. She's
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I
gained some weight since the time of the incident.
She's in her late 20's. She has a young daughter
and she was recently married.
One of the things in this case that is
important is the length of time which she's
expected to live because that's something that a
jury could -- combined with her prior level of
activity, lack of any history, and present
problems which our doctor really can't refute,
could be a significant -- lead to a significant
verdict from the jury.
In fact, I wouldn't be surprised by something
in the range of $75,000.
Now, at the same time this young lady wasn't
wearing knee pads which a jury will no doubt take
into account.
The other issue with regard to liability is
that the deposition of George Santos was taken in
this case. Mr. Santos is in charge of the crew
which goes out and maintains the sidewalk in
various ways, including taking care of problems
like this, and did indeed repair the sidewalk
after this particular incident took place.
He said that he felt the sidewalk was
dangerous, it should have been barricaded, and it
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should have been repaired, and that negative bit
of testimony in my opinion will make it virtually
impossible for us to get a straight defense
verdict in this case.
One of the things that exists'is the
plaintiff has offered to settle this case for
$25,000 and that is the number that we're
recommending here.
The $25,000 proposal, in the event the
plaintiff were to receive a verdict of $31,250,
would entitle them to their attorney's fees which
I would estimate in excess of $20,000.
In order to prosecute this case through trial
I would estimate the defense costs to be in the
neighborhood of $14,000, about $4,000 in costs
associated with trial, in addition to legal fees.
We had filed a proposal for settlement last fall
in the amount of $10,000.
Based upon her economic damages of just the
medical bills combined with the fact that I
believe we're going to have liability in some
fashion, I think that it's likely that plaintiffn
will be able to beat our proposal for verdict.
Accordingly we'll be responsible for her
costs and again the $31,000 which would provide a
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basis for them to receive attorney's fees.
Her doctor has opined that she will need
additional injections, she's had some injections
into her knee, and perhaps arthroscopic surgery at
some time during her life, which again the jury
could take into account in awarding her future
medical expenses.
One of the things that we need to be aware of
is that if a jury awarded her only 15 cents an
hour, and plaintiff's attorneys have a way of
couching things in a cup of coffee per hour or
dollar an hour or some period of time, and over
the next 50 years of her life, and that 50 years
is on the light side because she probably will
live a little longer than that and we say that
she's 50 percent responsible for her knee fracture
and the resulting injuries, the plaintiff's
attorney would beat their proposal for settlement.
So, that's essentially what the case is about
and the reasons for the recommendations which
we're making to the Village.
Questions from the council?
MR. EISSEY: The total amount that you are
requesting that we consider is 31,000?
MR. BELL: 25,000.
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MR. EISSEY: 25,000. And no additional costs
will be forthcoming if we settle for that?
MR. BELL: Right. There would be no
additional attorney's fees or costs awardable to
the plaintiffs in this case. It would be
inclusive of any claims that they would have
forever.
MR. EISSEY: Thank you.
MR. BELL: Which, as the prevailing party,
you're responsible for the costs incurred in
litigation for things like experts and filing fees
and such.
MR. EISSEY: Okay.
MR. NOEL: Any other questions?
MR. NORRIS: David Norris. If we agree to
it, do we have coverage or something on this or
does this come out of our pocket?
MR. CARMAN: Yes. I'd like to answer that
question, if I could.
The City is a member of a self-insured pool
by the name of SIRMA and the City pays, for lack
of a better term, a premium based upon assessments
that are levied pursuant to a formula on a yearly
basis.
It's not the City that would be paying. It's
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the self-insured pool, SIRMA, that would be paying
on behalf of the City. So, this is not City
funds that we're talking about. It's in essence,
for lack of a better term, self-insured funds out
of the pool.
MR. NORRIS: What kind of fees have we
already incurred or will we incur?
MR. CARMAN: Jib, you've been working the
file. I don't know what the fees are.
MR. BELL: I couldn't tell you what the total
fees are at this point.
The issues which have recently sort of
changed are with regard to the orthopedic
examination that we had done where he finds that
there is chondromalacia of the patella and every
time he starts to move away from it, he keeps
coming back in his point.
Another issue is Mr. Santos. It appeared
initially we would be in a position to say if it's
so big that it's a problem, you should have seen
it or if it was so small, it wasn't so dangerous.
Take your pick.
MR NORRIS: I understand that. I was just
wondering if we agree to this, the 25,000, what
are the other fees and costs that we've already
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incurred?
MR. BELL: I don't have an estimate.
MR. CARMAN: Once again those fees and costs
are part of the fund.
MR. BELL: My estimate for taking it through
trial would be about $3,000 to have the orthopedic
surgeon come in and testify and about $1,000 in
random -- I won't say random, but court reporter
fees, exhibits, incidental expenses associated
with it. The trial would likely last three to
four days and probably I would guess in
preparation therefore, there would be probably
another 60 hours of time expended in total.
MR. NORRIS: One last question. If it's
getting paid by SIRMA, do we have to get approval
from anybody else or we call the shot here? .
MR. CARMAN: In this particular incident when
you deal with SIRMA, SIRMA has authority to
approve claims up to $25,000. Anything in excess
of $25,000 must be approved by the SIRMA board
which the City has a representative on that board
for purposes of approval, but in this particular
instance since the settlement does not exceed that
$25,000 limit, the only approval required would be
by this council and then the settlement could go
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through without any additional approval necessary.
MR. NORRIS: All right.
MR. NOEL: All right. Charles?
MR. O'MEILIA: Charles O'Meilia. Are you
saying that Santos said that the Village was aware
of this problem?
MR. BELL: No. What Mr. Santos said was that
the Village up until the filing of this litigation
was under the impression that the area outside --
At the edge of Lighthouse Drive there is a ships
wheel which I believe most of the members of the
Village believed was the limit of North Palm
Beach. There's a drainage easement past that.
Back in the '701s, the mid 1701s, the Village
of North Palm Beach intended to fill that in. It
solely serves to drain water from the shopping
center. It's in Palm Beach Gardens on I think
it's Gardens East Drive there.
Palm Beach Gardens orally agreed to maintain
that area and has been mowing the grass and taking
care of the weeds in that canal with a bushwhacker
for quite some time.
There is no written agreement about
maintaining that area and initially there was a
concern that the sidewalk could be involved. We
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were unable to determine any kind of concrete
evidence that the sidewalk was ever discussed or
that we would be able in any way to hold Palm
Beach Gardens responsible for the damage to the
sidewalk of the tree lifting it up.
Because of the lack of an agreement reached
or any documentation that we were able to locate
regarding it, the Village is responsible for that
area.
So, it's our understanding that not only Palm
Beach Gardens, but North Palm Beach's employees
assumed that that was outside the area.
With regard to what Mr. Santos actually said,
I don't believe that he said there was any notice
whatsoever of the area because it was outside the
Village or his belief was that it was outside of
the Village of North Palm.
The plaintiff's argument would be that the
Village has a duty to maintain the sidewalks in a
reasonably safe condition and that he believes
that that particular area was dangerous and should
have been barricaded and ultimately repaired.
I understand the notice issue that I think
you're getting at, but the concern that we have
here is it's something which will get to the jury
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and I don't think a jury is going to find in favor
of the Village on that basis.
MR. O'MEILIA: Charles O'Meilia. The initial
lawsuit was against the Gardens and the Village.
Did the Gardens -- They got out of it?
MR. BELL: Because the sidewalk itself was
located in North Palm Beach, Gardens got out of
this case brought by the plaintiff.
We've considered various avenues of trying to
bring Palm Beach Gardens back into it and I don't
believe that any of them would succeed, nor do I
think that it would be -- that the moneys expended
in pursuing such a course would be justified in
the end of what you would get in return.
MR. O'MEILIA: Have they accepted it, the
agreement?
MR. BELL: Yes.
MR. O'MEILIA: They have accepted 25?
MR. BELL: Yes, the plaintiff has.
MR. NOEL: David?
MR. NORRIS: He asked my question.
MR. NOEL: Anyone else have a question?
I have a question, just a quick question, and
it's relative to all -- any lawsuit, but it
pertains in this one to Mr. Santos.
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Was he briefed by our counsel prior to going
to this deposition or our employees or anyone who
is being deposed on our part?
MR. BELL: I spoke with him in this room for
a period of time prior to his deposition. When I
tried to point out things to him in a certain
fashion that may alter his testimony or make him
understand the issues better, he indicated that he
was going to basically say what he was going to
say, which was the truth in his mind.
I did raise basically the issues, you know,
about notice and about the lip itself and he
believed that it should have been fixed.
MR. NOEL: As long as he had an opportunity
for counsel, that's what I was concerned about.
MR. EISSEY: Do we need to, as the council,
make a motion to recommend the amount in the
settlement?
MR. NOEL: We're going to do that out there.
Anything else?
MR. O'MEILIA: Have you got a comment on
this, George?
MR. BALDWIN: No. I think I'm pretty clear
on the presentation of the facts and the concepts
and what the likely outcome would be both in
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liability and the amount of damages.
MR. O'MEILIA: I move we adjourn.
MR. NOEL: Anything else? Are we moving to
adjourn this?
MR. BALDWIN: We're done.
(Whereupon, the proceedings were concluded.)
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CERTIFICATE WITH ACKNOWLEDGMENT
STATE OF FLORIDA
COUNTY OF BROWARD
I, LINDA S. VIVERETTE, Registered
Professional Reporter, certify that I was authorized to
and did stenographically report the foregoing
proceedings and that the transcript is a true and
complete record of my stenographic notes.
Dated this 6th day of September, 2005.
JNDA
S. VIVERETTE
Registered Professional Reporter
Notary Public, State of Florida
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THE PALM BEACH POST
Published Daily and Sunday
West Palm Beach, Palm Beach County, Florida
t -h
`
NO:; 2732470:
VILLAGE OF.
NORTH PALM BEACH
PROOF OF PUBLICATION
PUBLIC NOTICE
'THE CITIZENS OWNERs
OFROE
VILLAGE OF NORTH;
PALM 'BEACH `AND AL L
INTERESTED'PERSONS;
S'TAT'E OF FLORIDATO
ARE HEREBY ADVISED
TAKE NOTICE THAT
COUNTY OF PALM BEACH
MAYOR" DONALD' G:
NOEL; .VIC`E�MAYO.R
Before the undersigned authority personally appeared Krlsti Morrow, who on oath
EDWARD M.'EISSEY,
PRESIDENT PRO" TEM _
says that she is Customer Service Supervisor of The Palm Beach Post, a daily and
CHARLES p. O'MEILIA;
COUNCILMEN `DAVIR B.'
Sunday newspaper, published at West Palm Beach in Palm Beach County, Florida; that
i ;NORRIS AND`AOBERT F:
' .RENNEBAUM : WILL CON -
the attached co of advertising for a Notice in the matter of Attorney -Client Client
PY g Y-
VENT AN OPEN MEETING'
QF THE` NORTH PALfVI
Session was published in said newspaper in the issues of Februa 21, 2005.
hrY
BEACH: VILLAGE COUN:
CIL ON THURSDAY;FEB.
Affiant further says that the said The Post is a newspaper published at West Palm
'RU A WHICM TIME THE
Beach, in said Palm Beach County, Florida, and that the said newspaper has heretofore
V'ILLAGE'COUNCIL,WILL
been continuously published in said Palm Beach County, Florida, daily and Sunday and
ANNOUNCE'ITS INTEN=.
TION TO' MEET IN A PRI-
has been entered as second class mail matter at the post office in West Palm Beach, in
VATE ATTORNEY CLIENT
SESSIONVITH:VILLAGE
said Palm Beach Count for period of one year next preceding the first
Ys Florida, p Y p g
MANAGER MARK BATES;
ITSrVILL'AGE ATTORNEY
publication of the attached co of advertisement; and affiant further says that she/he
P PY Y
GEORGE' W' BALDWIN;
AND ITS LITIGATION
has neither paid nor promised any person, firm or corporation any discount rebate,
ArroRNEYS KENNETH P.
commission or refund for the purpose of securing this advertisement for publication in
CARMAWAND•ALFRED A'
.:R.ELL A To Dls"cusS
the said newspaper.
PENDING. LITIGATION
CASAMENTOI
VS.NEIA
:.GAGE OF'NORTH PALM
BEACH.'THIS'ATTOR=.
NEY-CLIENT SESSION
WILL-BE-HELDPURSU-.
'ANT 70`FLA. STAT 286.
ON THURSDAY;
"
FEB UAR1( 24,`.2005,.AT
7130' M _ ORAS: SOON
!-
THEREAFTER A8 P,OS-.
SIBLE AT TIHEWILLAG'E
Sworn to and subscribed before 21" da of Feb .a , A.D. 200
I Y
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1; NORTH;P...ALM;,BEACH;
FLORIDA-. AL''S`O, BE
ADVISED THAT,AT THE
CONCLUSION OF THIS
ATTORNEY-CL•IENT•SES-
SION�TH-E VIL•LA.G'E ;
COUNCIL'-WILL`RECON-
VENE ITS PUBLIC'MEET-
Personally known XX or Produced Identification
-MATTERS WH CH REMAIN
Type of Identification Produced
ON ITS AGENDA.
Melissa Teal; CMC .
I
Village Clerk.?;
PUB:.7he Palm Beaoh Post
February 21, 2005
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