“It’ll be personal injury for those that were not killed, and wrongful death actions brought by the parents and/or partners of the people that were killed.” – Justus W. Reid, partner with Reid Burman Lebedeker Xenick told the Daily Business Review

By Zach Schlein | August 28, 2018

Attorneys at nationwide law firm Morgan & Morgan announced Tuesday that they would be filing the first lawsuit over the Aug. 26 shooting in Jacksonville that killed three — including David Katz, the gunman responsible — and left 11 people injured from the shots fired and chaos that ensued.

Speaking at a press conference at the firm’s Jacksonville office, attorneys noted they were right across the street from the site of the shooting at a video game tournament Sunday in Florida. Lawyers Tim Moran, Matt Morgan and James Young told reporters that Morgan & Morgan would be submitting its first claim in Florida state court later this week.

“We will be filing a negligent security lawsuit on behalf of several victims,” Morgan told reporters.
In his opening remarks, Morgan repeatedly emphasized the need for business owners and event organizers to provide proper security to patrons, in light of multiple mass shootings in Florida and the United States.

The suits stem from an Aug. 26 attack in which alleged shooter Katz, a 24-year-old competitive gamer from Baltimore, opened fire at Good Luck Have Fun Game Bar, a video game-themed spot in the back of Chicago Pizza restaurant. Katz killed two people before turning the gun on himself.

“It is a scary and terrifying time for Americans in this country. It seems like every time we turn on the news there’s another reporting of a mass shooting, and it can almost make it so that you don’t want to leave your house. But Americans are resilient. We don’t run and hide, we get up and fight,” Morgan said. “It is time for event organizers to step up their game when it comes to security.”

“Business as usual on the security front will no longer be tolerated by Americans,” Morgan reiterated. “We are going to demand more. We must demand more.”

According to Morgan, there were several reasons for the parties hosting the “Madden NFL 19″ tournament at the GLHF (Good Luck Have Fun) Bar to take extra precautions to ensure the safety of attendees: recent violence in the area, including a January 2017 shooting at Jacksonville Landing, as well as a bullet recently striking the Morgan & Morgan office.

“Our building was shot two months ago,” he said. “The duct tape on the shattered window remains.”

Morgan said the inherently competitive nature of video game tournaments warrants extensive precautionary measures. ”These are the types of events that have to have the highest level of security. Tensions run high at these events and this community knows that security at these events is a paramount concern.”

During the press conference’s question-and-answer session, Morgan’s colleague, Moran, told reporters that the firm was still considering all potentially liable parties and would not be naming any defendants at this time. Furthermore, none of the attorneys would specifically say how many clients they were representing at this time.

“Every hour that ticks by there’s more people that are calling us,” Morgan said. “Every time there’s a mass shooting in Florida we get contacted by victims and families of victims. This is the first case that we have gotten involved in as a law firm.”

Observers expect more litigation.

According to West Palm Beach attorney Justus Reid, partner with the Reid Burman Lebedeker Xenick firm, it is likely that lawsuits will be filed on grounds besides negligent security.

“It’ll be personal injury for those that were not killed, and wrongful death actions brought by the parents and/or partners of the people that were killed,” Reid told the Daily Business Review.

The board-certified trial attorney said it was “a recipe for disaster” to hold such an event with no security.

“The organizers of this are going to be looking for a good lawyer to defend them because they’re going to get sued and the pizza place will get sued,” he said.

Morgan & Morgan is a personal injury law firm with offices around the country, including 24 in Florida alone. It was among the first firms to file suit in the wake of the March 2018 FIU bridge collapse, which killed six.