L-R Michael Haggard and Christopher Marlowe, The Haggard Law Firm. Courtesy photo L-R Michael Haggard and Christopher Marlowe, The Haggard Law Firm. Courtesy photos.

Two Coral Gables litigators called on their experience working alongside Florida legislators to secure a nearly $2 million settlement for relatives of a man who died after being struck by a Miami-Dade bus driver.

On May 23, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a claims bill providing for Miami-Dade County to pay $1.75 million to the widow and two sons of Eric Tenner. Tenner's widow Maria was represented by Michael Haggard and Christopher Marlowe, both partners with the Haggard Law Firm in Coral Gables.

According to Haggard, Eric Tenner was taking part in his normal exercise routine when he was hit by a bus just south of the intersection of Southwest 124th Street and the U.S. Highway 1 Busway on Oct. 8, 2014. The attorney said the bus, which was driven by Miami-Dade employee Jose Sequeira, clipped and injured Tenner around 7 a.m.

“There was a bus right behind the bus that hit Mr. Tenner, and that driver saw the whole thing happen,” Haggard said, noting Tenner had been wearing all recommended safety equipment when the incident occurred. “The bus driver who hit Mr. Tenner kept driving, like he didn't even feel or notice it, and this bus reported it.”

As noted in the Miami-Dade Police Department's traffic homicide report, Tenner was later pronounced brain dead and taken off life support at Kendall Regional Hospital.

Read the traffic report:

Both Marlowe and Haggard said it was a case of clear liability, and argued Sequeira had not been paying attention when he hit Tenner. Marlowe said the bicyclist was “lit up like a Christmas tree” with safety equipment at the time of the accident, and would have been hard to miss.

“He was not far out in the lane. The evidence showed he was close to the side of the grass,” Marlowe said. “He was a very experienced rider and he was doing something other drivers testified people do all the time, and have learned to anticipate.”

Haggard added there was an eyewitness on the bus who yelled, “Look out!” when Tenner was hit.

“You had two key witnesses: the witness on the bus and the second bus driver,” he said. “Both of those people saw what was going to happen, obviously this bus driver was distracted. … [Tenner's death] should never have happened.”

Although the driver was arrested on returning to the scene of the accident, the criminal charges were later dropped since prosecutors could not clearly establish Sequeira was aware he had struck Tenner.

Tenner's estate subsequently filed a lawsuit against the Miami-Dade County Board of Commissioners, seeking damages under the Wrongful Death Act. In an answer to the complaint, the defendants denied the allegations and contended they hadn't been properly served with the suit.

Marlowe and Haggard said Miami-Dade officials argued Tenner should not have been bicycling in the bus lane to begin with.

“The only issue in the case in terms of controversy was he was in the bus lane headed down south,” Marlowe said. Although Haggard conceded Tenner was not supposed to be in the lane, he said “that really didn't matter here.”

“The reason this happened was the bus driver wasn't paying attention,” Haggard said.

The plaintiffs retained the services of Dr. Fred Raffa, an economist who serves as an expert witness on economic damages, to estimate losses. After estimating that the damages exceeded $3 million to $4 million before accounting for pain and suffering, the parties opted to enter mediation proceedings.

The settlement the parties reached exceeded the $300,000 cap imposed by sovereign immunity protections, and required the Florida Legislature to approve the unopposed claims bill for Tenner's estate to collect the award. The process was hamstrung by political gridlock, and ultimately took years to receive congressional approval.

Haggard said his experience as the president of Florida Justice Association and dealing with Tallahassee lawmakers concerning safety issues helped him and Marlowe to navigate the bill through the legislative process.

“That's our third claims bill,” Haggard noted. Marlowe said the attorneys spoke in front of representatives from the Florida House as well as the state Senate, who later shared their findings with legislators.

DeSantis' signing of the bill means Tenner's family can now move forward, Marlowe said.

“Ms. Tenner and her boys are never going to recover from what happened. You never get over something like this,” the attorney said. “We can't bring [Eric Tenner] back, but we can try and make some portion of their life a little bit easier.”

Assistant County Attorney for Miami-Dade County Rachel C.G. Walters told the Daily Business Review her office had no comment on the settlement or claims bill.

Case: Maria Tenner as personal representative of the Estate of Eric Tenner v. Miami-Dade County Board of Commissioners

Case no.: 2015-011637-CA-01

Description: Automobile negligence

Filing date: May 22, 2015

Settlement date: June 14, 2017. Claims bill signed by DeSantis on May 23, 2019

Judge: Eric Hendon

Plaintiffs attorneys: Michael Haggard and Christopher Marlowe, The Haggard Law Firm, Coral Gables

Defense attorneys: Eric Gressman, Kelley Kronenberg, Miami; Rachel Cullen Ganz Walters and Benjamin David Simon, Miami-Dade County Attorney's Office, Miami

Settlement amount: $1,750,000