Florida senators Tuesday approved a plan that would pay $10.75 million to a man who suffered debilitating injuries in a car crash with a Broward County sheriff’s deputy, likely ending a long-running legal and lobbying fight.
Attorneys for the injured man, Eric Brody, and an insurer for the Broward County Sheriff’s Office finalized a settlement earlier Tuesday that calls for the $10.75 million payment. If the House goes along, the agreement will head off a renewed legislative debate about compensating Brody.
Senate President Mike Haridopolos (R-Merritt Island) made the Brody issue a priority last year, but the House did not take up a claims bill during the chaotic final hours of the legislative session.
Along with passing the Brody bill (SB 4), the Senate on Tuesday also approved another claims bill that Haridopolos has championed. That bill (SB 2) would pay $1.35 million to William Dillon, who spent 27 years in prison after being wrongfully convicted in a Brevard County murder.
“Today’s simply about justice,’’ Haridopolos said in presenting the Dillon bill, which passed 39-1. Only Sen. Steve Oelrich (R-Cross Creek) voted against the measure.
The Brody case has repeatedly gone before lawmakers in recent years, as his family and an insurer for the sheriff’s office have sparred about how much money he should receive. Also, the debate has centered on whether the insurer, known as Ranger Insurance Co. at the time of the 1998 accident, could be exposed to what is known as a “bad faith” lawsuit because of its handling of the
case.
Under terms of the settlement, Fairmont Specialty Insurance Co., the successor to Ranger, would pay $10.75 million, and the family would not able to pursue a bad faith case. Such a case, if successful, could have cost the company millions of extra dollars.
Before the settlement, SB 4 called for Brody to receive $15.57 million, while the House version, HB 445, called for him to receive more than $30.6 million.
“After 14 years, it (the settlement amount) is not as much as I believe Eric deserves, but this will help take care of him,’’ said Lance Block, a longtime attorney for the family. “And he couldn’t have done it without the help of the Florida Senate.’’
Jason Unger, an attorney and lobbyist for Fairmont, said the settlement brought “finality” and prevented the possibility of a bad-faith lawsuit leading to years of further delays in resolving the case and compensating Brody.
“When all the parties can get together and agree on a settlement, I think it serves the process well,’’ Unger said.
In recent weeks, Senate Rules Chairman John Thrasher (R-St. Augustine) and House Speaker Dean Cannon (R-Winter Park) publicly urged that a settlement be negotiated in the case. The insurer said it had offered $8.5 million, but the Brody family turned down that amount.
Brody was 18 years old and college bound when a Broward deputy slammed into his car while speeding to make a roll call. A Broward County jury in 2005 awarded $30.6 million to Brody, but the state’s sovereign immunity laws required him to have a claims bill passed to be able to collect.
Brody, who suffered brain injuries, came to Tallahassee in November and watched from his wheelchair as a Senate committee approved the bill. But he was not in Tallahassee on Tuesday, because he recently suffered injuries in a fall.
As a sign of the importance of the Brody and Dillon issues to Haridopolos, the claims bills were the first two pieces of legislation that the Senate took up on the opening day of this year’s session. The Senate voted 37-2 to approve the Brody bill, with only Oelrich and Sen. Don Gaetz (R-Niceville) opposing it.
Haridopolos also took the unusual step of personally sponsoring the Dillon bill. Under that bill, Dillon would receive $50,000 for each of the 27 years he wrongfully spent in prison.
“What we’ve taken away from him can never be brought back,’’ said Sen. Steve Wise (R-Jacksonville).