Jason S. Mazer and Joshua R. Alhalel achieved a significant victory in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida when the Court entered summary judgment in favor of the firm’s client, Gregory Tony, in his official capacity as Sheriff of Broward County, Florida (“BSO”), in an insurance coverage action concerning the horrific Parkland Shooting incident at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School on Valentine’s Day in 2018.
In November 2022, BSO filed an action requesting the Court to determine whether the Parkland Shooting Incident constitutes a single “occurrence” or multiple “occurrences” under an insurance policy issued to BSO. BSO contended that that the Parkland Shooting Incident constitutes a single “occurrence,” such that it must exhaust only a single Self-Insured Retention (“SIR”) of $500,000 under the subject insurance policy. The insurer, on the other hand, took the position that each victim of the Parkland Shooting Incident constitutes a separate occurrence under the insurance policy such that the Self-Insured Retention of $500,000 must be separately met by BSO for each victim or gunshot that did harm.
On March 24, 2024, the Court granted summary judgment in BSO’s favor stating that “Plaintiff BSO is entitled to summary judgment in its favor declaring that, as a matter of law, the Parkland Shooting Incident constitutes a single “occurrence” under the Policy and that BSO is required to exhaust only a single SIR of $500,000.”
The Cimo Mazer Mark team was honored to represent BSO in this very important case. A copy of the Omnibus Order on Motions for Summary Judgment is attached here. Order Granting Motion for Summary Judgment