Security Deficiencies Result in $1.7M Verdict Against Orlando Area Hilton Embassy Suites www.privateofficer.com

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Orlando, FL  November 10 2012An Orange County jury Fridayordered Hilton Embassy Suites, Interstate Management Company, and SecurAmericato pay a combined $1.7 million dollars in restitution to Troy Anderson, who wasshot in 2008 while parking his car at the Hilton Embassy Suites on Jamaican Court,near International Driveaccording to court documents.Andersonfiled a lawsuit in 2009 for the shooting that occurred on the premises of theHilton Embassy Suites on September 26, 2008, when he was shot multiple timesduring a car jacking. He sustained serious and life-threatening injuries as aresult. (Troy Anderson v. Hilton Hotels, et al.,Case No. 2009-CA-040473-O, Fla.9th Judicial Cir.).Anderson'slawyers, Riley Allen and Simon Wiseman, explained that evidence in the ten daytrial, as Allen said, showed “security was present, but spent more timedelivering bed items, towels, and bell carts to guests rather than patrollingthe exterior of the hotel and serving as a deterrent to crime. The hotelprovided a 'uniformed housekeeper,' not security. The guests deservebetter."According to court documents, lights that would haveilluminated the area where the crime occurred were burned out and hadn't beenreplaced for months. A former Regional Manager, Chuck Klawitter, testified thehotel would "wait until enough lights were burned out to justify getting a'hi-lift' to replace the burned out lights." Klawitter and two otherformer SecurAmerica employees, Emmanuel Denau, a former Quality AssuranceSupervisor, and Rob Wombolt, a former Operations Manager, testified they broughttheir security concerns to the attention of the hotel and the security company.Witnesses testified that the area where hotel personnelinstructed Mr. Anderson to park his vehicle was "very dark," eventhough it was only 50 or 60 feet from the hotel entrance. According to courtrecords, Crime Scene Investigator (CSI), Gerardo Bloise, Orange CountySheriff's Department (OCSO), photographed and documented the scene and hisphotographs confirmed that a critical floodlight intended to illuminate thearea where Mr. Anderson parked was not working on the night he was shot. CSIBloise confirmed in his testimony the area was “very dark.”Assistant Hotel General Manager, Victor Vergara, claimed andtestified at trial, contrary to the evidence, that all the lights were workingand the parking lot lighting was "perfect."Court records reveal that jurors also learned that a similarstrong-armed robbery had occurred in the parking lot of the Embassy Suites tendays prior. Deputy Lourdes Clayton of the OCSO appeared on the scene of thearmed robbery ten days earlier and was on the Hilton Embassy Suites' propertyfor approximately an hour. The hotel and security company denied knowing shewas on the property though in following protocol she would have arrived withlights and sirens on as the call was a Code 3 emergency. She also completed an"incident report," which is a public record and which was brought outin her testimony at trial where she verified she was on the property for"approximately an hour." The victim who was robbed at gunpoint,72-year-old Roger Kraft from Ohio,stayed an additional two nights at the hotel, yet the hotel and securitycompany argued he did not tell anyone about being robbed despite the fact hiswallet, cash, and credit cards were stolen. Allen told the jury the assertionwas "ridiculous." Mr. Kraft unfortunately passed away a year and ahalf ago.A "daily activity report" for September 26, 2008,introduced into evidence of the courts demonstrated the SecurAmerica guard wasdelivering "bell carts" and was responding to "guestrequests" during the 25 minutes prior to the shooting rather thanproviding security of any kind. During the three hours prior to the shooting,the security guard spent more time responding to guests' requests for bellcarts, towels, and bed items than providing security and patrolling theexterior of the hotel despite the fact this was a Friday night. The shootingoccurred at approximately 11:15 p.m.In addition to Vergara, the Vice President of SecurAmerica,Warren Bovich, also denied knowledge of the armed robbery ten days prior to theshooting of Mr. Anderson. According to court documents, the former employees,Klawitter, Denau, and Wombolt each testified they brought their concerns aboutsecurity to Bovich, but Bovich was more "concerned about losing thecontract" with Hilton Embassy Suites "than he was aboutsecurity." Klawitter had also brought his concerns directly to Vergaraafter the incident ten days prior, but Vergara, despite the complaints from securityguards about performing non security services and the strong-armed robbery tendays prior, did nothing to change the way security was provided at the HiltonEmbassy Suites.The former employees, Klawitter, Denau, and Wombolt, alsotestified they had seen a "daily activity report" and "incidentreport" from the robbery incident ten days prior. Vergara and Bovichdenied having seen these documents despite the fact both would have beenprovided copies according to protocol."With foreseeability comes responsibility," Allen said."It is clear that documents existed concerning the prior crime and it isfurther clear the documents were destroyed."Allen further explained, "This allowed the jury toconsider an instruction from the Court regarding destroyed documents and toinfer the destroyed documents would have substantiated the armed robbery tendays prior, thus, making the crime against Mr. Anderson foreseeable anddemonstrating that action should have been taken by Hilton Embassy Suites toavoid further crimes."The "contract" between SecurAmerica and HiltonEmbassy Suites called for the security guard to also provide housekeeping andengineering services. They claim it is the "industry standard" in thehotel industry, according to Wiseman. "That standard needs tochange," said Wiseman. "Otherwise, it is nothing more than afaçade."Allen and Wiseman also uncovered evidence showing the hotelpreviously retained additional law enforcement personnel and security toprotect its property when "expensive cars" were on its property duringthe "Florida Classic Weekend," the annual November football gamebetween Bethune Cookman and Florida A&M, but apparently failed to takesecurity measures when it came to protecting its guests.MKG Hospitality ranked Hilton as the second largest hotelbrand in the world at the end of 2011. Interstate Hotel Management's websiteclaims they are the largest U.S.based hotel management company in the world and SecurAmerica is the 22ndlargest security company in America.Prior to the trial, Troy Anderson offered to settle the casefor a reasonable and much lesser amount. The offer was rejected outright by allthe defendants. As a result of rejecting the offer to settle, the defendantswill now have to pay an additional substantial sum in attorney’s fees thatcould approach $1 million, plus the costs of the trial.    Riley Allen and Simon Wiseman represented Troy Anderson.Michael Reed, Shelley Leinicke, and Lisset Hanewicz, all of Wicker, Smith,O'Hara, McCoy and Ford, P.A., represented Hilton Embassy Suites, and StevenAdamsky and Noah Bender of Mitrani, Rynor, Adamsky and Toland, P.A.,represented SecurAmerica. The collective pre trial offer was $280,000.00. Thejury allocated 72 percent of the negligence to Hilton Embassy Suites and 28percent to SecurAmerica. The defendants denied all responsibility and asked thejury to return defense verdicts for each. For more information, contact Orlando personal injuryattorney Riley Allen.Read the full story athttp://www.prweb.com/releases/orlando-shooting/carjacking/prweb10112808.htm