As three men were walking through a flea market parking lot late in the evening, attackers brutally stabbed them. Now, a jury has awarded the three men hefty damages for the injuries they sustained, due to the failure of the flea market to maintain a safe environment.

Attorneys Daniel W. Courtney and Roy J. Kahn won a $1.4 million verdict on behalf of their clients, Lazaro Rodriguez, Eusebio Perez and Leuvis Leyva, in the Miami-Dade Circuit Court.

The plaintiffs recovered $562,404, after the jury assigned 40 percent of the blame to the flea market, and the remainder of the blame to the plaintiffs and a market vendor. which represented 40 percent of the gross amount.

The case lasted nearly four years before a court found the defendant, GFM Operations, responsible for the dangerous environment that led to the stabbings.

GFM was the sole owner and operator of the Opa Locka Hialeah Flea Market, where it leased space to more than 800 vendors.

At trial, the jury found GFM negligent and determined that this negligence was a legal cause of the injuries the three men sustained.

"This flea market is rampant with crime," Courtney said. "During jury selection, there were people who talked about their experience when they were little at the flea market. And they remember feeling fearful in terms of the lack of security."

The lead attorney listed for GFM, Michael Pedowitz from Baumann, Gant & Keeley, did not respond to requests for comment.

In a post-verdict pleading, the lawyers for the plaintiffs say the men are entitled to 100% of the damages determined by the jury because Florida Statutes Section 768.81, Florida's comparative fault statute, does not apply to actions based upon an intentional tort. Here, the criminals in the case intentionally stabbed the three victims.

The court listed a vendor as a Fabre defendant, which was assigned 25% liability. Jurors also assigned partial liability to the stabbing victims. The jury assigned 40% of the blame to the flea market, reducing the plaintiffs recovery to $562,404.

A special set hearing for an hour April 3 has been canceled due to court closures because of the coronavirus outbreak. There has not been a rescheduling of the hearing.

Part of the reason GFM was liable for these amounts is that its agreement with its landlord stipulates that GFM had to maintain the upkeep of the premises, such as performing repairs, ordinary maintenance, or "to warn of any unsafe conditions," court filings show.

An Opa-locka ordinance in place several years before the attack requires all flea markets to operate and manage the flea market to maintain safety, while preventing hooliganism, assaults and battery upon visitors, and to have "a sufficient number of guards on the premises for such purposes."

According to the judgment, during discovery in the case, a document says GM swore under oath that it only had the responsibility for the security in the area where the attacks and stabbings took place.

Rodriguez, Perez and Leyva were playing dominoes at the flea market all through the afternoon, outside of Los Ranchos restaurant. In the evening, an unfamiliar group of men got into an argument with Perez at the restaurant. According to Courtney, his clients were not looking to fight. The group of men left the dominoes players and walked toward the parking lot.

"Our client went there a few minutes afterward and essentially got jumped," Courtney said. "In a negligent security case, you would very often see, lighting is insufficient. That is almost an invitation for criminal activity."

Around 10 p.m., when the three men were attacked in the "common area parking lot controlled by GFM," the plaintiffs lawyers argued it was foreseeable. There was repeatedly a lack of security guards, and during the incident, no guards were standing watch. Poor lighting has not been remedied, and the victims could not see the faces of their attackers and that they were carrying weapons at the time of the assault.

Plaintiffs alleged high crime at the flea market. In the last three years, there have been over 800 calls to the police — 40 of those calls were for battery and 10 for robberies, according to information in the final judgment. And a person at the flea market was killed three weeks before the attack.

While each man was stabbed, Leyva was wounded in his back. Having never seen the face of the person who stabbed him, Courtney said Leyva was in fear for his life.

"He was so concerned that the person would come back and try to kill him, he ended up moving to the middle of nowhere," Courtney said. "He moved to Madison, Nebraska, which is a town of about 2,000 people."

Perez primarily speaks Spanish, yet few people in Madison do. He moved away from his three siblings and nephews.

"So, it was interesting because the insufficient lighting not only plays into the liability of GFM Operations," Courtney said, "but it also plays into the damages of our client."

Perez had the most severe injuries from the brutal attack. Courtney said the stab wound penetrated his diaphragm and his lung, inches away from his heart. However, Perez took actions afterward that did not help his case.

"In terms of obstacles in the case, he ended up going back to Los Ranchos and continued to drink there regularly," Courtney said. As a result of that conduct, Courtney noted, "He ended up with the lowest jury verdict."

Case: Rodriguez v. GFM Operations Inc.,

Case no.: 2016-021307-CA-01

Filing date: Aug. 16, 2016

Verdict date: Feb. 19, 2020

Plaintiffs attorneys: Daniel W. Courtney, Law Office of Daniel W. Courtney, Miami; and Roy J. Kahn, Roy J. Kahn P.A., Miami

Defense attorneys: Gary F. Baumann, Baumann, Gant & Keeley, Fort Lauderdale; and Michael J. Pedowitz, Baumann, Gant & Keeley, Fort Lauderdale

Verdict amount: $1.4 million