Attention: News / Legal Editors
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Landmark Legal Ruling Reaffirms Rental Giants’ $10 Million Punitive Punishment in Brutal Assault on Resident
Court Decision Could Lead to Improved Safety Standards for America’s 80+ Million Renters
DATE: 2/07/07
Tampa, FL: In a landmark legal ruling with potential far-reaching national repercussions, a Tampa court yesterday reaffirmed rental giants Brookside Properties and Southstar Equity’s $10 million punitive punishment in the negligence case of tenant Lai Chau, citing the companies’ failure to provide reasonable safety precautions for residents. This is in addition to the $5.677 million Chau received in compensatory damages. In December of 2001, Chau was abducted by three armed assailants at her apartment complex, robbed, and shot three times in the head. Remarkably, she survived the ordeal.
“It’s an absolute miracle that Lai wasn’t killed during that horrific assault,” said attorney Barry Cohen, whose law firm of Cohen, Jayson & Foster, P.A. represented Ms. Chau, “but we don’t want future residents to have to rely on miracles. What’s so truly outrageous and morally indefensible is that for mere pennies on the dollar, those rental giants could’ve protected Lai by addressing these gaping lapses in security. Hopefully this decision will serve as a much-needed wakeup call to other rental outlets – because if they don’t better protect their residents, we’ll come after them, too.”
According to testimony during Ms. Chau’s trial, the security system at her Tampa apartment complex was badly flawed, with broken gates, unmonitored alarms and substandard lighting. Brookside Properties and Southstar Equity’s mutual business holdings are worth an estimated $500-million, and Chau’s attorneys argued that the two rental companies clearly had the resources to provide greater protection to residents, but simply opted not to.
The U.S. Census Bureau estimates that over 80 million Americans live in rented apartments and homes. Rented households are burglarized at rates roughly 50% higher than owned households, and renters often lack the financial resources to seek legal recourse for inadequate security. The median net wealth of a homeowner household is $171,700; the median net wealth of a renter household is just $4,800.
“Renters are among the most vulnerable of all our citizens,” Barry Cohen observed. “And if human decency isn’t enough to motivate these rental giants to provide sensible safety precautions to tenants, then the burden falls on our courts and lawyers. Fortunately for Lai, we were up to the challenge.”
For interview requests with attorney Barry Cohen, please contact Scott Pinsker at 727.871.3204, or spinsker@tampalawfirm.com.
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ABOUT COHEN, JAYSON & FOSTER, P.A.: Cohen, Jayson & Foster, P.A. – Tampa’s leading civil litigation, commercial litigation, medical malpractice, and criminal defense law firm – has left an indelible imprint on the American legal system, securing record-setting verdicts of over one billion dollars for its clients. Led by trailblazing attorney Barry Cohen and his star-studded team of legal professionals, CJF’s unparalleled successes in white-collar crime, bank fraud, securities fraud, product and premises liability, criminal law, wrongful death, and catastrophic personal injury have been showcased on The Oprah Winfrey Show, Larry King Live, 60 Minutes, and more. Utilizing the latest advances in new technology, information-gathering, and cutting-edge legal strategies, the firm boasts the in-house services of Ivy League-educated attorneys, former federal prosecutors, ex-FBI agents, hard-hitting courtroom litigators, and the former Sheriff of Pinellas County. For more information, please visit www.tampalawfirm.com.