COVERING A BREACH OF SECURITY

A 25-year-old man went home to his apartment building. In the lobby, he was allegedly harassed by three men loitering in the lobby. A security guard supplied to the apartment building by a security firm took no action and did not ask the men to leave or ask for identification.

The resident went to his apartment, and came back to the lobby area approx. 15 minutes later. The three loiterers were still present and they blocked his entrance and "then decided to use him for target practice, shooting him six times," according to his attorney.

One of the six shots hit his spine, causing paraplegia and confining him to a wheelchair. He sued the owner and manager of the building, as well as the security firm.The trial court dismissed claims against the owner and manager, and the jury awarded the plaintiff $10 million against the security firm.

Despite the award, the security firm will not pay the amount to the plaintiff, since it has an indemnification agreement with the building manager. The trial judge upheld the validity of the agreement, making the building manager liable.

Source: Security Legal Update