Todd Michaels of the Haggard Law Firm in Coral Gables. Courtesy photo.

Coral Gables attorneys Todd Michaels and Adam Finkel of The Haggard Law Firm negotiated a $1 million pre-suit settlement over an unusual negligent security claim, where the suspected attacker was a tenant who had every right to be on the property.

Plaintiffs counsel said victim Wayne Mitchell had celebrated his 50th birthday days before he was shot and killed Jan. 7, 2019, at his apartment complex at 2170 Washington Avenue in Opa-locka.

Mitchell's neighbor Carlos Flores was charged with first-degree murder and is awaiting trial. Prosecutors allege Flores was jealous that the apartment complex had hired Mitchell as a part-time handyman — a position he reportedly wanted.

Flores' attorney, Annemarie Harris Block, a Miami-Dade public defender, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Michaels and Finkel represented Mitchell's son Antonio, who accused complex owner Palmer Properties of negligent security and wrongful death. But because the building was particularly small, with roughly 10 units, Michaels and Finkel knew it wasn't reasonable to argue it should have hired guards.

Unable to make general allegations about security at the complex, Michaels and Finkel homed in on the suspect Flores, arguing he never should have been granted the right to live there in the first place.

In addition to regularly hassling his neighbor about the handyman job, Flores had a lengthy and violent criminal history that included gun violations, aggravated assault and drug possession, according to Michaels, who called that a game-changing discovery.

"They had gates, obviously, to keep the bad guys out, but those are worthless if you're letting the bad guys live in the apartment building," Michaels said. "They either did not do a background check on Mr. Flores, or did not care about how bad his criminal record was and allowed him to rent the unit."

'Lurking' in the hallway

More compelling evidence came from eerie surveillance footage that appears to show Flores carrying a gun and waiting to ambush Mitchell in the hallway.

"He's waiting, lurking behind a corner outside of his door for a long time with his hands in his shirt, and there's nobody even there to see him," Michaels said.

After that heavy lifting, Michaels noted the case resolved surprisingly swiftly and amicably — all within the 30-day window outlined in his client's demand letter, as Palmer Properties agreed to settle for its $1 million insurance policy limit.

Defense attorney Emanuel Galimidi of Lydecker Diaz in Miami did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

"It doesn't always have to be contentious," Michaels said. "I think we had a responsible defense firm and a responsible insurance company that looked at this and said, 'This is a case that it would be in our best interests to settle.' They did the right thing and, frankly, it's the respectable thing to do as well, for the family that's already gone through a horrible loss, to not subject them to going through a lawsuit."

Mitchell's son is in high school planning for college, and remembers his father as a hard worker who always put family first.

"You can't ever replace what was taken from him," Michaels said. "But you can take away those things which cause day-to-day worry. Sometimes that's the most you can do."

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