More flyers sue over wounds
Delta, Allied Barton blamed in 2017 airport shooting
Julie Steckley and Edward Amzibel and their spouses were heading off to long-planned cruises. Christopher Prather and his sons had arrived for a family funeral. And Bonifacio Gonzales was recovering lost luggage. Then their lives converged in the baggage claim area at Fort Lauderdale airport’s Terminal 2.
They escaped with their lives the events of that day — Jan. 6, 2017 — when gunman Esteban Santiago opened fire with a weapon he had checked in for his Delta Air Lines flights from Anchorage, Alaska, to Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.
But they weren’t unscathed. Santiago shot each of them and they are now suing Delta and Allied Barton Security Services LLC, a company contracted to provide security services at the airport. Three of the suits are also seeking damages from Broward County, which owns the airport, the Broward Sheriff’s Office, which has deputies stationed there, and two AlliedBarton parent companies. The suits were filed in Broward County Circuit Court by Amzibel and Steckley last week and by Gonzales in March. Prather’s suit was filed a year ago.
The claims are similar: Delta was at fault for allowing Santiago to pick up his gun in the baggage claim area among other passengers and for not treating his travel more suspiciously, while the county, Sheriff’s Office and security services were faulted for offering inadequate protection to travelers in the terminal. Santiago killed five and wounded six in the slaughter. He was sentenced to five life terms in August.
Several of the suits said therewere no sheriff’s deputies in the baggage area at the time of the shooting because theywere gathered in a conference room for a deputy’s retirement party.
According to lawsuits and attorneys, Gonzales was the first to be struck by one of Santiago’s bullets, in his upper arm, ripping open an artery. Amzibel was shot in the face and his wife, Mary, also shot, died on the airport floor. Steckley took a bullet to her shoulder and never went on her 27th anniversary cruise to the Panama Canal. She now has short-term memory loss and was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, her lawsuit said.
After being wounded, Prather, an active duty Air Force master sergeant, instinctively pushed his two young sons to the floor and covered them protectively with his arms while Santiago continued shooting.
Gonzales is from Miami, Prather from Texas, Amzibel from Delaware and Steckley from Mississippi.
Delta, the Sheriff’s Office and Allied Universal, one of the parent companies of AlliedBarton, declined comment. The county has not responded yet to a request for comment, but typically does not comment on pending litigation.
Other suits were filed last year by the families of three of the five people killed: Olga Woltering, Terry Andres and Michael Oehme. Amzibel’s suit also covers the death of his wife. Oehme’s suit was filed by his wife, Kari, who also was shot at the airport.
The shooting led to the airport being closed to all flights and created a panicked aftermath that sent the airport into chaos for hours.
Attorney David DiPietro, whose clients include Steckley and Amzibel, said they came to him following Santiago’s sentencing.
The cases are all being assigned to Chief Circuit Court Judge Jack Tuter, DiPietro said. While the suits will be tried individually, the depositions and other fact-finding can be combined, hesaid. DiPietro said it could be two years before any of the cases go to trial.
Whether the lawsuits— if successful — are able to get much money from the county or Sheriff’s Office could depend on a case before the state Supreme Court. The liability of local governments is capped by state law: $200,000 per individual and $300,000 per incident. To get any more, the state Legislaturewould have to approve a special claims bill, which can be a long and grueling process.
The suit before the court says each shot should be counted as a separate occurrence when the limit is applied. All the shootings together should not be considered a single incident, it said. Af avorable ruling would also benefit the airport shooting victims and the victims of the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland in February 2018, when 17 people were killed and 17 wounded.
“Each time a gun is fired it constitutes a separate incident,” DiPietro said. “Each shot should be a separate and distinct event for purposes of the cap.”
Nicholas Gerson, an attorney for Gonzales, said there shouldn’t even be a cap.
“It’s inherently unfair,” he said.
DiPietro said even if the Supreme Court agrees with the lawsuit, he still would be seeking money from the Legislature if successful because he doesn’t think $200,000 is enough.
“We’re hopeful when the time’s right we can have a claims bill and seek similar relief as the victims in the Parkland shooting,” DiPietro said.