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TGM Ashley Lakes12/1/2003
WHOLE COURT
This is an appeal by the defendants from a final judgment entered in a wrongful death action. After review, we find no error mandating a new trial and affirm.
Danielle Jennings was strangled to death in her own apartment by a maintenance employee of TGM Associates, L. P., her landlord. Subsequently, Phillip and Sherry Jennings, as the co-administrators of their daughter's estate, as the next friends of Tristan Jennings (the decedent's minor son), and as her surviving parents sued TGM Ashley Lakes, Inc., TGM Associates, L.P., Maria Caruthers, and Beverly Glover.
Ashley Lakes is an apartment complex located in Gwinnett County consisting of 240 units and 12 buildings. At the time of the murder, TGM Ashley Lakes, Inc. owned the apartment complex; TGM Associates, L. P. was the management company; Caruthers was the property manager, and Glover was the leasing manager. The Jennings brought claims for negligent hiring and retention, failure to provide adequate security and failure to warn, negligence, nuisance, and wrongful death. Claiming that the conduct of the defendants evidenced a wilful and wanton disregard for the safety of others, they sought punitive damages. Following trial, the jury returned a verdict in excess of $13 million for wrongful death and for pain and suffering. The jury also awarded punitive damages of $2.5 million, an amount later reduced to $250,000 based upon the jury's finding that there was no specific intent to harm. Following the jury verdict, entry of judgment and the denial of the motion for new trial, TGM and the other defendants (collectively "TGM") filed this appeal alleging seven claims of error.
When viewed in the light most favorable to the verdict, the evidence showed that Danielle Jennings, her boyfriend and her two-year-old son, Tristan, moved into the Ashley Lakes apartment complex in November 1998. On March 15, 1999, Jennings was found strangled to death in her apartment. Approximately six months earlier, in September 1998, the apartment complex had hired Calvin Oliver, a convicted felon and recidivist, as a maintenance worker and gave him full access to all the residents' keys. On the day of the murder, Oliver entered Jennings' apartment while she was at work, and killed her when she came home at lunchtime. He was later arrested and convicted for the victim's murder and the burglary of her apartment.
Glover, the leasing manager, had recommended Oliver for employment as a maintenance worker . Although Oliver told Glover that he had been in trouble with the law and had been in jail, Glover did not check into his criminal history or disclose that information to her supervisors. In fact, Oliver had spent most of his adult life in prison or on parole. He had felony convictions for rape, armed robbery, robbery, robbery by force, larceny, credit card theft, and at least three residential burglaries. Oliver was also the subject of an outstanding arrest warrant for a "failure to appear" in a burglary case involving the theft of personal checks. Caruthers admitted that given his background, Oliver was not a suitable employee.
It is undisputed that TGM never attempted to determine whether Oliver had any prior criminal convictions. Despite knowing that another TGM region required criminal background checks on prospective employees, Caruthers did nothing of this nature. Instead, Caruthers, who was directly involved in the hiring decision, testified that she wrote "N/A, not applicable" next to the space for criminal history check on Oliver's employment paperwork that she sent to TGM's office in New York. TGM also failed to obtain three letters of reference for character and work experience required by TGM's
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