Jury Awards $100M in Shooting Death of Former Florida State Senator’s Son

A Miami jury this week awarded a former Florida state senator $100 million in a wrongful death lawsuit brought against the condominium complex where her son was shot to death in 2021.

Daphne Campbell, who served for eight years in the Florida Senate, sued the Monte Carlo Condominium Association, the property management firm, and a security company, according to court records, the Miami Herald and other news sites. After four years of litigation, the state court jury returned the verdict Tuesday.

The jury assigned 57% of fault to the property manager, AKAM On-Site Inc.; 18% to the condo association; 18% to the EMS Protective Group security firm; and 7% to the tenant who lived there, according to the jury’s verdict sheet in Miami-Dade County Circuit Court. The woman was reportedly Jason Campbell’s girlfriend, and the shooter was described as a jilted lover of the girlfriend. Lakoria Washington was charged in the murder, according to news reports.

The Campbell family’s lawsuit complaint alleged that the attack was reasonably foreseeable. The shooter had previously gained access to the property in 2021 while armed, and the complex was a known “high crime area,” the family charged. The condo association, property manager and security company failed to secure the premises, protect tenants and invitees, and failed to warn people of the danger.

The damages award will be shared by the former senator and her husband, as well as the children of the victim, the Herald reported. The shooter, Washington, has pleaded guilty to the murder and is being held in jail in Miami-Dade County.

The Campbell family was represented by members of the Morgan & Morgan law firm and the Ver Ploeg & Marino firm.

The verdict is one of many high-dollar and high-profile jury awards in cases involving premises liability and negligent security in Southeastern states in recent years.

Topics Florida