Sierra vs. Associated Marine Institutes, Florida Department of Juvenile Justice, and Big Cypress Wilderness Institute

Outcome: Seven figure settlement at mediation.

Description: On August 25, 1998, Michael Sierra was brutally murdered by two high-risk juvenile detainees in the Big Cypress Wilderness Institute juvenile detention facility located inside the Florida Everglades. Plaintiffs filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the Florida Department of juvenile Justice, the state agency responsible for supervising the high-risk inmates, the private contractor, associated Marine Institutes, and its subcontractor, the Big Cypress Wilderness Institute. The case was initially dismissed at the trial court level and Mr. O'Leary was able to successfully have the case reversed in the second District Court of Appeal. As a result of extensive discovery plaintiffs were able to establish that the defendants failed to properly train Michael Sierra and failed to appropriately supervise the high-risk inmates. The case was complex due to the presence of extensive legal issues involving workers compensation immunity, sovereign immunity, and multiple insurance coverage issues involving the state of Florida insurance guaranty Association and the state's workers compensation insurance guaranty Association.