$6 Million Dollar Policy Limits Settlement in Wrongful Death Shooting Case

Butler Kahn and our co-counsel Ronnie Mabra recently got a $6,000,000 policy limits settlement in a wrongful death, negligent security case arising from a shooting at an apartment complex.   

Negligent security cases against apartment complexes can be tough.  It can be difficult to show that the owner knew about the danger of criminal activity.  It can also be difficult to show that the owner could have done anything to prevent a fatal shooting, particularly in a high-crime area.  

Even when an owner is legally responsible, it can also be difficult to recover because commercial insurance policies commonly include “assault and battery” exclusions, which limit and sometimes completely bar a recovery. 

Our case involved all of these challenges, including an assault and battery exclusion that reduced the available insurance from $6,000,000 to a $500,000 sub-limit.  The insurance company tried to settle the case for the sub-limit, but we were able to get around the exclusion and recover the full insurance limits of $6,000,000 by relying on a consumer protection statute. 

Here’s more about the case.

Facts of the Shooting

As of March 14, 2023, Clarissa Dale lived in an apartment complex with her three children, Ashley, Alison, and Tim.  In the early morning hours, Ashley and Alison were sleeping in their shared bedroom.  A gang member starting shooting in the middle of the apartment complex.  Alison woke up hearing Ashley screaming.  Ms. Dale yelled out to her children from her bedroom to get down to the floor.  Alison and Tim came into her bedroom but there was no sign of Ashley.  They went into the girls’ bedroom and saw Ashley in the bed.  A stray bullet had entered the apartment, struck Ashley, and ultimately killed her. 

The Apartment’s Liability

The apartment’s liability was clear.  The apartment was in a high-crime area.  Evidence showed that the owners knew about multiple shootings and hundreds of other violent crimes that predated our case.  Even worse, the evidence showed the owners knew that criminal gang activity plagued the apartment.  In a letter addressed to residents, the owners wrote that “[t]here is a known resurgence of gang activity in the area and within the community.” Another written communication identified several residents believed to be gang members.    

Because the owners knew about the shootings and hundreds of violent crimes that happened at the apartments before Ashley’s death, but didn’t do anything to keep the residents reasonably safe, the owners were legally responsible. 

Assault & Battery Exclusion

Even though liability was clear, the owners argued that they were only responsible for $500,000 because of an “assault and battery” exclusion in their insurance policy.  An exclusion in an insurance policy is a provision that specifies certain events or risks that are not covered by the policy.  Assault and battery exclusions are common for apartments and businesses located in high-crime areas.  Those exclusions are intended to limit claims that arise from criminal activity. 

Georgia appellate courts have reviewed assault and battery exclusions and approved of their use. But just because an exclusion applies, does not mean that a claim cannot be made. 

Legal Strategy to Recover the Full Insurance Limits

Before accepting the policy limits offer, we insisted that the owners provide full copies of the insurance policies.  It’s important to always review the full insurance agreement where a policy contains an exclusion because Georgia courts liberally construe insurance contracts in favor of coverage.

After reviewing the insurance agreement, we concluded that the exclusion applied to a claim arising from an assault and battery event, but it didn’t apply to claims that did not arise from the shooting.  Specifically, the exclusion did not apply to misrepresentations that the owners made about the apartment’s safety. 

In our case, the owners attracted tenants by promising a safe community at an affordable price.  Specifically, the owners told Ms. Dale that the apartments were safe by representing that that the apartments were a gated community with security cameras and on-site security guards to protect residents.  In reality, none of that was true.  The apartments had gates, but those gates were not operational.  The gates remained open, allowing people to come and go.  The apartments had security cameras, but none of them were operational at the time of the shooting.  Finally, although the apartments occasionally had on-site security guards, the owner denied that those security guards were responsible for keeping residents safe.

Based on those facts, we concluded that the owner was legally responsible for violating the Georgia Fair Business Practices Act (“GFBPA”).  The GFBPA was enacted to protect the public from unfair or deceptive trade practices that harm consumers. Here, the owners violated the GFBPA by misrepresenting the safety of the apartments.  Because Ms. Dale relied on those misrepresentations, the owners were liable. 

Six-Million-Dollar Settlement

After disclosing our evidence showing numerous prior violent crimes and highlighting the misrepresentations that Ms. Dale relied upon when moving into the apartments, we sent an offer to settle for the full $6,000,000 policy limits.  The owners’ insurers accepted the offer.

While no amount of money can bring back a loved one, the additional money will enable Ms. Dale to provide for her other children for the rest of their lives.