A $2 million settlement has been reached between a Pompano Beach resident and real estate companies whose alleged negligence led to her stabbing.

Patricia Norris filed suit in October 2017 against the Palm Aire Gardens Condominium Association and First Service Residential in connection to a knife attack that left her with scars across her body. She had been assaulted by Charles Gipson, a fellow resident of Palm Aire Gardens Apartments, in April 2017. Gipson stabbed Norris 12 times before dropping the weapon, leaving her enough time to flee and seek shelter in the property manager's office.

Norris' attorney, Todd Michaels of the Haggard Law Firm in Coral Gables, said his client had no idea about the danger posed by her neighbor when she moved to Palm Aire Gardens in late 2016. However, he contends the Palm Aire Gardens Condominium Association and First Service Residential — the respective homeowners association and property management company responsible for the community's upkeep — did.

“What was striking about this particular case was you rarely, if ever, see a case with this kind of foreseeability,” Michaels said. According to the attorney, Gipson had repeatedly threatened and harassed other women residing at Palm Aire Gardens prior to his attack on Norris. ”Women previous to our client had done everything in their power and constantly were emailing the manager of the property and begging them for help,” he added. “The property manager and the people that own the property, the homeowners association, never took any steps to deal with it.”

Read the complaint: 

Michaels explained the Palm Aire Gardens Condominium Association had bylaws in place to institute eviction proceedings against Gipson but never did so. Likewise, First Service Residential purportedly never took any action beyond verbally reprimanding Gipson and promising future consequences if his behavior continued. “They knew it was a ticking time bomb and chose to ignore it,” Michaels said. By the time Norris rushed into the First Service Residential office covered in blood, the bomb had exploded in a cascade of random violence.

“Nobody gave her any warning this was going on,” Michaels said.

Reginald Clyne, a partner with Quintairos, Prieto, Wood & Boyer's Miami office, represented the homeowners association in the suit. He declined to comment for this story.

The complaint filed against Palm Aire Gardens Condominium Association and First Service Residential accuses the entities of negligence in ensuring Norris' security and well-being.

“In order to buy a unit on that property you had to agree to the bylaws of the homeowner's association itself,” Michaels said.

According to the attorney, the case was not simply asking why Gipson hadn't been evicted; the plaintiff wanted to know why she hadn't been kept safe from him, even after community officials were made aware of his habitual offenses.

Michaels added no additional measures such as hiring more personnel or installing video cameras were taken to ensure the safety of Palm Aire Gardens Apartments residents.

“Property management refused to put cameras in the common areas and they were the only ones who had the right to do it,” he said. The only cameras present at Palm Aire Gardens happened to be in the property manager's office, the same location Norris sought shelter in after the assault. Video of the incident helped puncture the defense's argument Norris didn't suffer significant injuries from Gipson.

“Obviously we couldn't see the attack itself, but the video of her running into the management office was incredibly dramatic,” Michaels said. “She was basically cast in this real-life horror movie. Even though today she can put on a sweater and a pair of jeans … those scars aren't the kinds of scars that go away.”

Michaels said the defense also argued the conduct of individual unit owners was not their responsibility. But because Gipson was part of the homeowners association, Michaels likened the contention to “a corporation saying don't blame us, blame our employee.”

“The law says the people who own the premises have a nondelegable responsibility to keep the property safe,” he said. The homeowners association also held they couldn't be held liable since they failed to be informed of Gipson's infractions by  First Service Residential.

“The property owner remains responsible for the decisions of their manager,” Michaels said. “They were responsible even if they didn't handle the day-to-day operations of this property.”

Cole Scott & Kissane partner Joseph Goldberg served as First Service Residential's legal counsel in the proceedings. In a statement to the DBR, Goldberg said, “while we dispute the allegations, all parties elected to resolve the matter.” He referred to the settlement as “the conclusion of an unfortunate and unique circumstance.”

Both defendants ultimately tendered their policy limits of $1 million each, leading to Norris' final $2 million total.

“I hope the effect of the settlement is that that people that mange the condominium complexes understand when you have a dangerous condition or person on your property and know about it you cant just sweep it under the rug,” Michaels said. “Mangement companies need to start paying attention to things like security so no innocent people end up getting hurt … or worse.”

Case: Patricia Norris v. Palm Aire Gardens Condominium Association and First Service Residential of Florida

Case no.: 17-023980CA01

Description: Negligent security

Filing date: Oct. 25, 2017

Settlement date: Jan. 6, 2019

Judge: Judge Dennis Murphy

Plaintiffs attorneys: Todd Michaels,The Haggard Law Firm, Coral Gables; and Jon Zepnick, Hollywood

Defense attorneys: Joseph Goldberg, Cole, Scott, & Kissane, Miami; and Reginald Clyne, Quintairos, Prieto, Wood & Boyer, Miami

Settlement amount: $2 million