Miami steakhouse seared for $12M in shooting settlement
The settlement was the maximum amount the restaurant’s insurance companies could tender, court documents show.
Florida attorneys obtained a multimillion-dollar settlement for their client, who was rendered a quadriplegic outside of a high-end Miami Beach steakhouse over its alleged failure to secure the property during a holiday weekend.
Michael Haggard and Adam Finkel, the managing partner and an associate, respectively, at the the Haggard Law Firm, represented the plaintiff, Marcus Williams. Jonathan “DaBaby” Kirk’s entourage, included Williams, who stood with his wife near the valet stand on the premises of the defendant, Prime 112M LLC, moments before an unknown person shot him in the neck.
“If you’re handling negligent security cases, you need to know the industry standards and deviations for every industry,” Haggard said. “For instance, there’s shopping center standards, apartment complex standards, restaurant bar standards, and we had all those standards and questioned the owner, the manager and the staff at each deposition with them.”
Claire Armagnac-Rodriguez, a partner at the Miami office of Resnick & Louis who represented Prime 112, did not respond to a call or an email requesting comment.
Now, Haggard and Finkel announced on Wednesday that they obtained the $12 million settlement with Prime 112 in the matter before Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Vivianne Del Rio. And the settlement was the maximum amount the restaurant’s insurance companies could tender, court documents show.
Four insurance companies for Prime 112 divvied up the settlements: StarStone National Insurance Co. paid $5 million, Ascot Insurance Co. paid $5 million, North American Risk Services paid $1 million, and United Specialty Insurance Co. paid $1 million.
The dispute took place on Memorial Day weekend in 2021. On its website, Prime 112 boasts having the “finest quality dry-aged beef to accessories including the truffled lobster mac and cheese and kobe beef sliders,” as well as the “country’s most eclectic mix of upscale clientele.”
And soon after Williams arrived in one of four vehicles with his wife and as part of Kirk’s entourage at the restaurant for dinner, per court documents, Williams immediately noticed unknown individuals yelling at members of his party.
When the yelling became louder, Williams, standing at the valet, looked towards the Prime 112 employees who were watching the incident unfold instead of assisting, court documents show. Williams, over 6’3” and 280 pounds, went toward the commotion. Suddenly, an unknown person walked up on Williams and shot him in the back of his neck.
Falling to the ground, Williams could not feel anything, Haggard said. The father of three could not move his arms or legs, as the gunshot severed Williams’ spine. And less than six months later, Williams sued multiple entities, including Prime 112 and the Myles Restaurant Group.
Williams alleged in court documents that Prime 112 had private security on weekend nights but the high-end steakhouse chose not to have them on Memorial Day. Still, at the very least, the restaurant should have trained their employees to respond to altercations involving their patrons, as those unknown aggressors were leaving the steakhouse just after having dinner.
At the time of the shooting, Kirk’s security was protecting him, but the surveillance tapes showed that one of the guards walked over toward the direction of the scuffle. Haggard said the hip-hop musician’s security guard was worried about his client.
“You can imagine the defense saying, ‘DaBaby’s security couldn’t stop it,’” Haggard said. “But that’s not their job. The job to stop it was the premise owner’s job. That’s the law in Florida. That’s who has to provide reasonable security.”
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