Legal Report: Parking Lot Legal Risks and Cases
Security Management’s Legal Report regularly highlights the instances where legal matters intersect with the security industry—tracking court cases, new and developing legislation, and regulatory decisions or investigations that affect private organizations and security professionals worldwide.
In this special edition of Legal Report, the focus falls on recent court cases where an incident occurred in a parking area, highlighting the liability organizations can face over safety and security in these areas.
To share a tip or notify Security Management about emerging legal issues, email Associate Editor Sara Mosqueda at [email protected].
Assault. Major League Baseball (MLB) team the Los Angeles Dodgers will settle a lawsuit filed by a fan accusing the team of negligence after he was attacked in a stadium parking lot after a game.
Rafael Reyna was on the phone with his wife while walking to his car in a Dodgers stadium parking lot when he was assaulted by five people. The attackers violently beat him, causing Reyna to fall onto the pavement and strike his head. Reyna experienced a severe brain injury, was placed into a medically induced coma, and put on life support.
Reyna sued the Dodgers for negligence, liability, assault, battery, and inflicting emotional distress. The lawsuit claimed that Dodger Stadium has a higher crime rate than any other ballpark in the league, according to news reports. Funding for security of the stadium and its premises was reduced in 2004, and the lawsuit claimed that the parking lot lacked sufficient lighting or security guards.
The terms of the settlement were not disclosed.
Slip and fall. A New Jersey property management company agreed to a $900,000 settlement to settle a lawsuit alleging negligence for allowing dangerous conditions to exist and harm a realtor.
In February 2021, Piotr Sudal was walking through the parking lot of The Lofts at Town Center apartment complex in Robbinsville, New Jersey. Sudal claimed that he slipped and fell on black ice that had formed on the lot’s pavement, fracturing his ankle.
Sudal subsequently sued the Lofts’ property management company, P&A Management, and the snow-removal company that The Lofts hired, Walker’s Lawn Service, Inc.
The suit claimed that the defendants failed in their responsibility to ensure the safety of the facilities and property. Although Walker’s Lawn Service removed snow and salted the lot in the early morning hours before Sudal fell, the salt was washed away by rain. The groundskeeping service did not return to prevent ice from re-forming. Representatives from The Lofts and P&A did not call Walker’s Lawn Service to request it to come back to treat the parking lot.
Ultimately, the insurer for The Lofts and the management company agreed to pay $600,000 while the insurer for Walker’s Lawn Service agreed to pay $300,000 to settle the suit. (Piotr Sudal vs. The Lofts at Town Center, et al., Superior Court of New Jersey for Mercer County, No. MER-L-1262-22, 2024)
Negligent security. A Florida apartment complex and its security contractor agreed to a $21 million settlement to bring an end to a wrongful death suit.
Dimithry Remarais was walking to his car in the parking lot of Windward Vista Apartments one August evening in 2022 when he was approached by armed men intent on stealing his vehicle. They shot and killed him.
Remarais’s estate filed a suit against the property and it’s security company, Excel Security, Inc. The suit claimed that the property had a history of crime occurring in the parking lots and that Excel failed to adequately advise Windward’s property owners and operators about the extent of security necessary to reasonably protect residents and visitors. Security personnel on site at the time of the shooting never responded to the incident, nor did anyone speak with law enforcement, the suit claimed.
Excel agreed to pay its policy limits, $6 million, to settle the claims against it.
The estate’s attorney maintained that the property owners and managers were aware that crime had increased and that the security company’s recommendations were lacking, but still failed to secure the property or parking lot. Windward’s owners and managers ultimately agreed to a $15 million settlement. (Isabella Lubin, as personal representative of the estate of Dimithry Remarais v. Summit Palms Apartments, LLC, et al., 17th Circuit Court for Broward Florida, No. CACE-23-002869, 2024)
Personal injury. A police detective in Nashville, Tennessee, filed a lawsuit against a parking lot management company after he was shot while responding to a burglary.
Detective Donovan Coble was shot at The Parking Lot while chasing a suspect in June 2023. The suspect shot Coble with a gun that was allegedly taken from an SUV parked in the lot. According to the suit, the vehicle was left unlocked by a valet working at the lot, which is owned by TPS Parking Management.
The lawsuit accused the lot’s owners of inadequate security precautions despite a history of crime occurring on the property.
“In fact, it is well known to TPS that there were at least 10 incidents of break-ins and thefts at TPS in close temporal proximity prior to the date of the Coble shooting,” the suit said. “The failure to follow basic protocols…in light of the above were intentional, willful, and at the very least reckless.”
Coble is demanding compensation of up to $2.5 million to make up for his injuries, medical expenses, loss of wages, and other damages and expenses.
A trial has been set for 12 May 2026. (Donovan Coble and Kayla Coble v. TPS Parking Management, LLC, Circuit Court of Davidson County, Tennessee, No. 24-cv-00721, 2024)
Pothole. A California jury awarded $2.45 million to a woman who fell in a Walmart parking lot.
Kathy Morrow stepped into a pothole in a Walmart parking lot in February 2020 and fell. She later underwent major spinal fusion surgery for injuries sustained in the fall. Morrow said Walmart had failed to properly inspect and maintain their parking lot, presenting an obvious risk to pedestrians’ safety.
Morrow sued Walmart and the case ultimately went to trial. The jury did not rule Walmart was liable for the incident, but did grant Morrow the $2.45 million reward—exceeding the $1 million offer from Murrow’s attorney to settle the dispute. Instead, the jury found another business that shared the parking lot with Walmart to be 35 percent liable for her injuries. The other business settled with Morrow. (Kathy Morrow v. Walmart Inc., et al., San Diego County Superior Court, No. 37-2020-00020399-CU-PO-CTL, 2024)
Sara Mosqueda is associate editor for Security Management. Connect with her at [email protected] or on LinkedIn.