Parkland Victims’ Families Reach $25M Settlement With Broward School
District
By Scott Travis, South Florida Sun-Sentinel — October 19, 2021 3 min
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In this Feb. 15, 2018, file photo, law enforcement officers block off the
entrance to Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., following
a deadly shooting at the school.
In this Feb. 15, 2018, file photo, law enforcement officers block off the
entrance to Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., following
a deadly shooting at the school.
The families of 52 people killed, injured, or traumatized during the mass
shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High have reached a $25 million
settlement with the Broward School District, the lawyer for the families
confirmed Monday.
The largest payments will go to the 17 families whose children or spouses were
killed, and they will each receive an equal amount, attorney David Brill said.
Brill would not provide further detail on amounts or how the money will be
divided.
The settlement could end a 3 ½ year battle between the school district and
family members of victims, who alleged the school district’s negligence
contributed to a troubled former student walking onto the campus on
Valentine’s Day 2018 and killing 17 people and injuring 17 others.
“It’s a fair and frankly remarkable result,” Brill said. “It gives the
families a measure of justice and accountability.”
While the terms have been reached, the settlement agreement is still being
drafted, Brill said. With no signed agreement yet, the school district
declined to comment Monday.
“This continues to be pending litigation, which the District does not comment
on,” said a statement from the office of Chief Communications Officer Kathy
Koch.
Brill said the parties have worked out an arrangement that will enable the
families to collect without having to wait for approval from the Florida
Legislature, which is the normal process for a government settlement over
$300,000. He declined to provide specifics.
The settlement is “painful money” that provides little solace, said Andrew
Pollack, who became a fierce critic of the school district after his daughter
Meadow was killed.
“It’s hard to talk about money because your daughter was murdered,” he said.
“How could you be happy about it?”
“There’s no amount of money that could reverse the event that happened on
February 14th. There’s no monetary amount that could be given that fixes my
mental illnesses, my physical disability, or erase the memory that will always
haunt me and my entire community,” she said.
“All that I hope is that this provides a foundation for those who have been
affected who are struggling whether that’s mentally, physically, or
financially to get the resources they rightfully deserve,” Fuentes said.
She said the recovery has been a “painful and tedious process” and she still
experiences pain in both her legs daily.
“It fluctuates but some days it can be unbearable,” Fuentes said.
The plaintiffs include two current members of the Broward School Board: Lori
Alhadeff, whose daughter Alyssa was killed, and Debbi Hixon, who lost her
husband Chris, a coach and security monitor at Stoneman Douglas. Hixon
declined to comment, while Alhadeff couldn’t be immediately reached.
The School Board has been discussing the case in closed sessions for more than
two years, although Alhadeff and Hixon were not part of the discussions.
Payments will be made to the families of 17 people who died, 16 of the 17 who
were injured, and 19 who suffered severe trauma, Brill said.
It’s hard to talk about money because your daughter was murdered. How could
you be happy about it?
Andrew Pollack
One victim not included in the settlement is Anthony Borges, a student who was
one of the most severely injured survivors. Bullets ripped into his lung,
abdomen, and legs.
“There was a concern by the rest of the families that Borges was just
demanding more than the fair share,” and it was jeopardizing the settlement,
Brill said.
Borges’ lawyer Alex Arreaza split off from the larger suit, citing a need for
lifelong care that is expected for his client. He said it’s an “emotional
argument,” not a legal one, to say those whose loved ones died are entitled to
more money.
“The other parents will always say at least your child is alive,” he said.
“Out of all the 34 people (killed or injured), my client is the one that has
the biggest doctor’s bill.”
Arreaza said he expects a settlement in his client’s case within the next few
days.
The families still have open litigation against two former school district
employees, security monitors Andrew Medina and David Taylor, accused of
failing to respond once they were aware killer Nikolas Cruz was on campus.
They are also suing the Broward Sheriff’s Office and Scot Peterson, a BSO
school resource officer who didn’t enter the building during the shooting.
Those cases are still pending.
The announcement comes three days after lawyers for Cruz announced he would
plead guilty to the murders, avoiding the need for a trial. A jury is still
expected to decide whether he should receive the death penalty or life in
prison.
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