Trial Magazine

Kuanterion Rivers, 19, was gathered with friends outside the Oakwood Terrace Apartments when two young men exited a truck, approached the group, and fatally shot Rivers. He is survived by his parents.

Rivers’s estate sued property owner The Marquis Group, alleging inadequate security. The plaintiff claimed that although the property had a known history of crime, the defendant did little to improve safety at the complex. Specifically, suit alleged the defendant failed to repair the front gates and station a guard outside to monitor people entering the property.

The defense argued that the complex used occasional off-duty patrol officers and that nothing could have prevented Rivers’s death because the shooters had targeted him.

The parties settled for $5 million.

Citation: Rivers v. Marquis Asset Mgmt., No. 2021 CA 003095 (Fla. Cir. Ct. Escambia Cnty. Oct. 14, 2022).

Plaintiff counsel: AAJ members Michael A. Haggard and Adam C. Finkel, both of Coral Gables, Fla.