HB 1691, Engrossed 1 2003
   
1
2 A bill to be entitled
3          An act relating to the Sarasota County School Board;
4    providing for the relief of Denise Yahraus individually
5    and as the personal representative of the estate of
6    Michael Yahraus, deceased, and his three minor children,
7    Nadia Yahraus, Michael Yahraus, and Jonathan Yahraus;
8    authorizing and directing the school board of Sarasota
9    County, Florida, to compensate the estate for the death of
10    Michael Yahraus, due to the negligence of the Sarasota
11    County School Board; specifying the time and manner of
12    payment; providing an effective date.
13         
14          WHEREAS, on September 11, 2000, Michael Yahraus was fatally
15    injured in performance of his official duties while attending
16    the Criminal Justice Academy at the Sarasota County Technical
17    Institute, and
18          WHEREAS, the Sarasota County Technical Institute is
19    operated by the Sarasota County School Board, and the Criminal
20    Justice Academy, which Michael Yahraus was attending when he was
21    fatally injured, is a program operated by the Sarasota County
22    School Board, and
23          WHEREAS, during the course of the training class,
24    instructors of the Sarasota County School Board Criminal Justice
25    Academy negligently used a training handgun by using a blank
26    rather than a primer charge, which caused the handgun to
27    improperly fire a projectile from the plugged gun, wounding and
28    ultimately resulting in the death of Michael Yahraus, and
29          WHEREAS, the actions taken by the instructors were
30    negligent and caused the death of Michael Yahraus, and
31          WHEREAS, Denise Yahraus, individually and on behalf of the
32    decedent's minor children and as personal representative of her
33    husband's estate filed suit in Sarasota County against the
34    Sarasota County School Board, and
35          WHEREAS, the parties agreed to a settlement in the amount
36    of $1,250,000 to be paid to the estate and its beneficiaries,
37    and
38          WHEREAS, the Circuit Court in Sarasota County entered a
39    Final Judgment on January 14, 2002, in the amount of $1,250,000,
40    specifically incorporating the settlement agreement therein,
41    providing that the estate recover that amount from the Sarasota
42    County School Board, and
43          WHEREAS, Denise Yahraus has received $200,000 in partial
44    satisfaction of the agreed-upon settlement amount, and
45          WHEREAS, the Sarasota County School Board agreed not to
46    oppose the estate's efforts to secure a claim bill for payment
47    of the remaining portion of the stipulated final judgment, and
48          WHEREAS, the remaining unpaid amount of the judgment is
49    $1,050,000, NOW, THEREFORE,
50         
51          Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
52         
53          Section 1. The facts stated in the preamble to this act
54    are found and declared to be true.
55          Section 2. The Sarasota County School Board is authorized
56          and directed to compensate Michael Yahraus’s widow, Denise
57    Yahraus, as personal representative of the Estate of Michael
58    Yahraus, and his three children, Nadia Yahraus, Michael Yahraus,
59    and Jonathan Yahraus, for the death of Michael Yahraus caused by
60    school board employee negligence, in the amount of $1,050,000,
61    such payment to be made out of funds of the District School
62    Board not otherwise appropriated, and to be made thirty days
63    following the first July 1 after the effective date of this act.
64    After payment of statutory attorney’s fees and costs, and any
65    outstanding worker’s compensation lien, 50 percent of the
66    balance shall be paid to Denise Yahraus, and the remaining 50
67    percent shall be divided into three equal shares, with one share
68    being paid into each of the three children’s restricted
69    guardianship accounts.
70          Section 3. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.