Photo: Valeriy/Fotolia

WRONGFUL DEATH

HIGHLANDS CIRCUIT COURT

A jury awarded $700 million to the estate of a 20-year-old man who was beaten unconscious and killed when he was set on fire.

Aaron Doty was attacked by two men at a party at the Sun ‘n Lake Improvement District subdivision in Sebring in June 2012. Jonathan Ray Rodriguez and Kenneth Edward Felipe, who rented a home on the property for the party, beat Doty, threw him onto a porch, drove him into the woods the next day and set him on fire. Rodriguez and Felipe were convicted of first-degree murder. They defaulted on a wrongful death suit filed by Doty’s parents. The defendants were not present or represented at trial.

The subdivision was also sued but was dismissed as a defendant before trial.

Case: Estate of Doty v. Sun ‘n Lake Improvement District

Case No.: 14000278GCAXMX

Plaintiffs attorneys: Scott W. Leeds, Plantation, and Channa Lloyd, Orlando, The Cochran Firm

Defense attorney: None reported