Coversheet

Item Coversheet

ITEM 7.
County Attorney - Consent


AGENDA ITEM REPORT

DATE:	March 5, 2019
DEPARTMENT:	County Attorney
REQUESTER:	Louis Lira
TITLE:	Approve Mediated Settlement in the Wrongful Death Case of Joseph Santos v. Lee County

I.	MOTION REQUESTED
	Approve settlement in the wrongful death case of Joseph Santos v. Lee County for $300,000 inclusive of attorney’s fees and costs. The settlement is within the sovereign immunity limits of Florida Statute § 768.28 and will be paid by the County’s self-insurance loss fund.

II.	ITEM SUMMARY
	Approval of the proposed settlement resolves the case in its entirety against Lee County.

III.

BACKGROUND AND IMPLICATIONS OF ACTION

	A)	Board Action and Other History
		On August 2, 2017, Joseph Santos was involved in a motorcycle collision with a Lee County bus that resulted in his death. The incident occurred as a Lee County bus was stopped at the intersection of US-41 and Constitution Blvd. waiting to make a left turn into a shopping Center. The Decedent, Joseph Santos was travelling north on US-41 on his motorcycle when the Lee County bus driven by George A. Phillips made a left turn in front of Joseph Santos violating his right of way. The motorcycle driven by Joseph Santos struck the right rear of the bus resulting in the immediate death of Mr. Santos. Law enforcement cited Mr. Phillips for violating Mr. Santos’ right of way. Mr. Phillip’s driver’s license was subsequently suspended at a traffic hearing in Lee County. Due to his suspension, Mr. Phillips was no longer able to drive a bus for Lee County resulting in his dismissal from his employment with Lee County. This settlement resolves all claims by Mr. Santos Estate for wrongful death and right of survivorship. Mr. Santos was survived by his minor son and his parents.

	B)	Policy Issues
		On August 2, 2017, Joseph Santos

	C)	BoCC Goals
		N/A

	D)	Analysis
		N/A

	E)	Options
		1. Settle – resolves outstanding litigation. 2. Jury Trial – increases further costs and exposes Lee County to unknown liabilities.

IV.

FINANCIAL INFORMATION

	A)	Current year dollar amount of item:	$300,000
	B)	Is this item approved in the current budget?	Yes
	C)	Is this a revenue or expense item?	Expense
	D)	Is this Discretionary or Mandatory?	Discretionary
	E)	Will this item impact future budgets? If yes, please include reasons in III(D) above.	No
	F)	Fund: Self Insurance Loss Fund Program: Property and Liability Project: Self Insurance Account Strings: GC5133857700.504540
	G)	Fund Type?	Other: $300,000; Self-Insurance Loss FUnd; Included in Budget
	H)	Comments:

V.	RECOMMENDATION
	Approve

VI.	TIMING/IMPLEMENTATION

VII.	FOLLOW UP

REVIEWERS:
Department	Reviewer	Action	Date
County Attorney	Wesch, Richard Wm.	Approved	1/25/2019 - 2:05 PM
Budget Services	Henkel, Anne	Approved	1/28/2019 - 2:05 PM
Budget Services	Winton, Peter	Approved	1/28/2019 - 2:47 PM
County Attorney	Lira, Louis C.	Approved	1/28/2019 - 4:02 PM
County Manager	Winton, Peter	Approved	1/28/2019 - 4:06 PM