 |
 |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|
|
|
|
Cole v. Pine Ridge Apartments Company II12/21/2001
This is an appeal from the Lake County Court of Common Pleas. Appellants, Mary Jane Cole, Steve Kopaitich ("Steve"), and Lillian Kopaitich ("Lillian"), appeal the judgment entry of the Lake County Court of Common Pleas granting summary judgment in favor of appellees, Pine Ridge Apartments Company II ("Pine Ridge"), Goldberg Companies, Inc. ("Goldberg"), DRP Security, Inc. ("DRP"), David I. Morris ("Morris"), Hermann Hill ("Hill"), Demetrious Latham ("Latham"), Willo Security, Inc. ("Willo"), and Wayne Trubiano ("Trubiano").
Appellants filed a complaint against appellees on January 15, 1997. This action arose from the murder of JoAnne C. Kopaitich ("JoAnne") by Michael Aquilla ("Aquilla") at the Pine Ridge Apartment Complex in August 1995. The action was for wrongful death and survivorship, funeral and burial expenses, punitive damages, and intentional/negligent infliction of emotional distress against Pine Ridge, the owner of the apartment complex located in Willoughby, Ohio; Goldberg, the provider of management services to the apartment complex; Morris d.b.a. DRP, the provider of security services to the apartment complex; Hill and Latham, the security guards on duty at the apartment complex; and Aquilla. On August 13, 1997, appellants filed an amended complaint and joined Trubiano d.b.a. Willo Security, another provider of security for the apartment complex.
This matter arose out of a trespass, breaking and entering, assault, and stabbing that occurred on August 17, 1995. The victim, JoAnne, resided at the apartment with her parents, Steve and Lillian. According to JoAnne's father, Steve, he leased the apartment from Pine Ridge on July 9, 1987, and JoAnne moved in in 1994. At 4:09 a.m., on August 17, 1995, JoAnne telephoned 9-1-1 to report that she was bleeding.
In an affidavit, Aquilla stated that he had entered the apartment complex at approximately 2:30 a.m. He "was looking in car windows for speakers and other items to steal." He averred that he "spent thirty minutes walking around and looking into cars and then proceeded to the area near [Steve and Lillian's] apartment because it was dark." Aquilla tried to gain access into the apartment through the main entrance, but he was unsuccessful. He then attempted a window entry for about thirty minutes. Finally, Aquilla cut and opened the screen and entered the apartment through a sliding glass door located on the ground-level balcony. Aquilla explained that he forced the sliding glass door open with his knife, which took about five minutes.
In his deposition, Steve testified that " obody ever complained about security, but complained an awful lot about the dark corner [on their patio]." He had requested installing a security light to one of the janitors. The janitors told Steve that they could not install a light unless management instructed them to do so. However, he admitted that he "never made the request [to anyone else], but talked about it to other people *." Furthermore, Steve averred that there was piece of wood that was in the apartment when they moved in that was to be used to secure the glass sliding door from the inside, but they did not use it because it was "about six inches shorter than it should have been." He explained that he did not put anything else down because he "didn't feel he needed to do that *" because there was security.
The apartment building was limited to residents, and guests entered via an intercom/buzzer system. Goldberg had hired DRP to provide security. Specifically, Morris, the president of DRP, provided information to Goldberg regarding effective security measures.
Hill and Latham, who were employed by DRP, were the two security guards
Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Ohio Personal Injury Attorneys
Personal Injury Lawyers
|
| |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|
By using the system, you agree to TERMS OF SERVICE
|