Florida Senate - 2009                               CS for SB 40
       
       
       
       By the Committee on Criminal Justice; and Senator Pruitt
       
       
       
       
       591-05188A-09                                           200940c1
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act for the relief of Angela Isham by the City of
    3         Ft. Lauderdale; providing for an appropriation to
    4         compensate Angela Isham, individually, and as co
    5         personal representative of the Estate of David Isham,
    6         deceased, for the death of Mr. Isham which was due to
    7         the negligence of employees of the City of Ft.
    8         Lauderdale; providing for attorney’s fees and costs;
    9         providing a limitation on the payment of fees and
   10         costs; providing an effective date.
   11  
   12         WHEREAS, on November 15, 2001, David Isham, the owner of a
   13  landscaping business and a pest control business, was driving
   14  along N.W. 13th Street in Ft. Lauderdale, and
   15         WHEREAS, in an unmarked police vehicle, police officers
   16  from the Ft. Lauderdale Police Department were engaged in an
   17  undercover narcotics surveillance and were in pursuit of a
   18  suspect who was driving a 1994 BMW, and
   19         WHEREAS, while being chased by the police officers, the
   20  suspect collided with Mr. Isham’s vehicle and caused Mr. Isham’s
   21  vehicle to flip upside down, catch on fire, and trap Mr. Isham
   22  inside, and
   23         WHEREAS, as a result of the collision, Mr. Isham died and
   24  left behind his grieving widow, Angela Isham, and
   25         WHEREAS, Mrs. Isham filed a lawsuit against the City of Ft.
   26  Lauderdale, and a week-long jury trial ensued in which the jury
   27  found that the police officers, acting in an official capacity
   28  as employees of the City of Ft. Lauderdale, were negligent with
   29  regard to the vehicle chase that ultimately resulted in the
   30  death of Mr. Isham and that their actions were the legal cause
   31  of injury and death to Mr. Isham, and
   32         WHEREAS, the jury returned a verdict on February 1, 2008,
   33  in favor of Mrs. Isham, and final judgment was entered in the
   34  amount of $1,435,219.25, plus postjudgment interest at the
   35  statutory rate of 11 percent per annum, and
   36         WHEREAS, the City of Ft. Lauderdale has paid only $200,000
   37  of the judgment and has not negotiated any settlement of the
   38  remaining judgment, and
   39         WHEREAS, the City of Ft. Lauderdale has approximately
   40  $2,023,594.52 in its Risk Management Fund which is available to
   41  pay claims or judgments such as the one presented by Mrs. Isham,
   42  but it has not done so to date, and
   43         WHEREAS, the balance of the net jury verdict in the amount
   44  of $1,235,219.25 is sought through the submission of a claim
   45  bill to the Legislature, NOW, THEREFORE,
   46  
   47  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   48  
   49         Section 1. The facts stated in the preamble to this act are
   50  found and declared to be true.
   51         Section 2. The City of Ft. Lauderdale is authorized and
   52  directed to appropriate from funds of the city not otherwise
   53  appropriated and to draw a warrant in the amount of
   54  $1,235,219.25, plus postjudgment interest at the statutory rate
   55  of 11 percent per annum, payable to Angela Isham, individually,
   56  and as co-personal representative of the Estate of David Isham,
   57  deceased.
   58         Section 3. This award is intended to provide the sole
   59  compensation for all present and future claims arising out of
   60  the factual situation described in this act which resulted in
   61  the death of David Isham. The total amount paid for attorney’s
   62  fees, lobbying fees, costs, and other similar expenses relating
   63  to this claim shall not exceed 25 percent of the amount awarded
   64  under this act.
   65         Section 5. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.