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October 2021
Helping Victims Heal Attorney James Wins $6 Million Negligent Security Settlement
We sue slumlords. The harsh reality of my role as an attorney is that when it comes to negligent security cases, I go up against those who take advantage of and exploit low-income individuals. I recently settled a case for $6 million that involved a child sexual assault victim. While I am unable to divulge the details and particulars of the case, I am proud to know that I improved the life of the victim and bettered the future in terms of the safety of the surrounding community. Let me explain. Negligent security occurs when a business owner or individual managing a certain property does not take reasonable precautions to safeguard and protect their clients. When an individual owns or rents out a property or business with a physical premises or location, they have a duty to make sure the people who live at that location (or their guests) or frequent that location, or who are consumers at that location, are safe from foreseeable dangers. For example, if the owner of an apartment complex is aware of a multitude of crime cases that occurred on that property in the past year, it is reasonable and foreseeable that one of their tenants will likely be a victim of a crime. They then have an obligation to take the reasonable steps necessary to ensure that does not happen: improving lighting on the property to deter crime, hiring a security service, or controlling access to a community by installing a security gate. When security measures like this are put into place, crimes are less likely to occur. Negligent security cases do not only apply to apartment complexes. Owners may be negligent in shopping malls, stores, and gas stations. If the property owners and managers of these businesses do not take the reasonable steps to make these areas safe, they can, and likely will be, the cause of someone getting hurt, assaulted, or killed. I was a prosecutor for 17 years. I started out as a courtroom prosecutor, then went on to be a special victims prosecutor. I quickly learned that as a prosecutor, I could put someone behind bars for the crimes they commit. While it’s beneficial to take the bad guy off the street, there is no compensation for the victim. If a 35-year-old man who is the sole breadwinner in his home is the victim of a crime and is no longer able to work due to sustained injuries, who replaces his income to care for his family? Who pays for years of therapy to fix what has been broken? No mechanism in prosecution can do that. The only thing a prosecutor can do to seek justice is to incarcerate
the perpetrator. However, the civil justice system exists to help a crime victim seek compensation for what happened to them and to assist them in being made whole after the incident. Negligent security cases are also important for the community. When large cases take place, such as my recent $6 million negligent security case, the behavior of the community is affected. Having lived in high crime communities while in law school, I saw firsthand how a management company running an apartment complex in a poor neighborhood differs from how they manage an apartment complex in a bustling and thriving community. In the nice area, the apartment complex has security guards and proper lighting — everything you would expect to be safe and secure at home. However, on the other side of town, in a poor community, the management company does not provide any of that. But, when a crime occurs in that area and the victim wins a large
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Man Sues Woman for Texting During a Movie Date
for the movie ticket he’d paid for. If she didn’t pay, he threatened to go after the money in small claims court. When Cruz initially refused, Vezmar made good on his threat and filed a petition in Austin, Texas. Vezmar made the case that Cruz had violated the cinema’s no cellphone policy and had negatively impacted his and other moviegoers’ experiences of watching a raccoon and a talking tree (among other beings) save the day. He claimed that while he sought modest damages, it was the principle of the thing that really mattered to him. He called Cruz’s behavior “a threat to civilized society.” As entertaining as it might have been to see that case fully make its way through the legal system, the lawsuit was eventually dropped after the TV show “Inside Edition” reunited Cruz and Vezmar and filmed her paying him back for the date. As the camera rolled, he counted his cash and considered them square. Unlike “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2,” there were no good guys in this story — but that doesn’t make it any less entertaining to read about after the fact!
We’ve probably all found ourselves annoyed with someone who uses their phone during a movie at the theater, but have you ever been so annoyed that you sued them?
That’s what Texas resident Brandon Vezmar decided to do back in 2017, following a “first date from hell” (as Vezmar put it) with
Crystal Cruz. According to Vezmar, about 15 minutes into “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2,” Cruz was texting on her phone. When Vezmar asked her to stop texting, she refused. Then, Vezmar suggested that she step outside of the theater to text. Cruz took his suggestion and never returned.
Most people would chalk the experience up to a bad date and
move on, but Vezmar was so indignant that he reached out to Cruz the next day and requested that she compensate him $4 for the pizza and $17
Corn Mazes Date Back to Ancient Greece? Historical Look at This Wacky Fall Tradition
Exploring a corn maze is a great way to get outside and enjoy the fall season with friends and family — but who came up with the idea of wandering around a corn field for fun? As it turns out, outdoor mazes are an ancient tradition, and the American corn maze of the ‘90s sprouted from the mazes of 17th-century European gardens. Don’t believe it? Here’s a quick tour of corn maze history. The Minotaur and the Maze Have you heard of Theseus and the Minotaur? This ancient Greek legend tells the story of the hero Theseus, who ventured into an elaborate maze to kill the half-man, half-bull imprisoned there. The monstrous Minotaur was known to eat heroes, and the labyrinth was known to trap them, but Theseus managed to slay the Minotaur and find his way home with the help of a string that he unspooled as he walked. This story isn’t the first recorded example of a maze or labyrinth — according to the World History encyclopedia, “[L]abyrinths and labyrinthine symbols have been dated to the Neolithic Age in regions as diverse as modern-day Turkey, Ireland, Greece, and India, among others” — but it’s perhaps the most famous ancient tale. If you’ve ever navigated a Halloween corn maze staffed by ghouls and ghosts, you can see the parallels! Garden Art to Get Lost In Mazes formed from bushes began popping up European gardens in the 17th century. They were a popular artistic feature of upper-class gardens in England, more for looking at than solving. One famous
example is the half-mile-long Hampton Maze, which was planted in 1690 and still stands today. The Corn Maze: An American Invention Garden mazes eventually hopped the pond to America but didn’t become interactive puzzles until Don Frantz, Creative Director of the American Maze Company, came on the scene. In 1993, Frantz created the “first ever cornfield maze for private and public entertainment” to attract college kids in Pennsylvania. Today, every small-town corn maze is a descendant of his “Amazing Maize Maze.” To learn more about that wacky history, visit AmericanMaze.com.
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If you had to get surgery in the early 1800s, it could be a death sentence. Before the invention of anesthesia, patients needing amputations and other operations were awake and lucid the entire time. Plus, surgery looked more like something from a horror movie than a lifesaving procedure. And it was during this era that Dr. Robert Liston, who was ironically considered one of the best surgeons of his day, performed the deadliest surgery of all time. Before getting into the particulars of what transpired during the surgery itself, you should know a little bit about Dr. Liston. Sure, he was a professional surgeon, but he was also a product of his time. He likely worked with dirty saws and knives while wearing a bloody apron in an unsanitary operating room. He was also named the “fastest knife in the West End” by medical historian Dr. Richard Gordon. He was known for performing surgeries very quickly, which, in the days before anesthesia, was as much as patients could hope for on the operating table. Only 1 in 10 of his patients died on the operating table, which sounds bad until you learn that a nearby hospital reported 1 in 4 people dying from similar procedures. PERFORMED BY THE ‘FASTEST KNIFE IN THE WEST END’ THE DEADLIEST SURGERY IN HISTORY
settlement, the property owner is forced to make a big business decision. They realize they cannot afford not to invest in proper security features. These suits hold them accountable and force their hand, so to speak. When a case like that happens, the behavior of that complex will be forever changed, and the people who live there will benefit and be much safer in the future. Thus, at Robert James Trial Attorneys, we sue slumlords. These slumlords manage properties and take advantage of low-income individuals. Their tenants work hard day in and day out, pay their rent on time, and just want a safe place to lay their head. Oftentimes, until something changes, what they get is not what they pay for, and that is wrong. Negligent security cases are the most important type of cases to me. While they are similar to what I used to do as a prosecutor, now, instead of chasing the bad guy, I’m chasing the bad business and going up against those slum lords who exploit individuals. I am proud of the work I do and the people I am able to help. I want true justice for all who have fallen victim to negligent security, and I don’t stop until I get it. - Robert D. James
Also, in those days, much like crowds used to gather to watch a hanging, people found amputations to be morbidly entertaining — and who wouldn’t want to watch the fastest knife in the West End at work? So, on the fateful day of that deadly surgery, Dr. Liston, ever the showman, cut through his patient’s broken, infected leg with incredible speed — so incredible that he didn’t realize he had cut off two of his assistant’s fingers in the process. Both later died of gangrene (remember the unsanitary tools?). But theirs were not the only deaths that day. When Dr. Liston went for one of his knives, he whipped it about a little too closely to one spectator, slicing through his coat. While he didn’t actually break the man’s skin with his knife, the spectator thought he’d been stabbed and died of shock right there in the operating room. So, instead of saving one life, Dr. Liston killed three people. It’s the only known surgery to have resulted in a 300% mortality rate.
HALLOWEEN COOKIE PIZZA
Inspired by Pillsbury.com
Image sourced from Pillsbury.com/recipes/halloween-cookie-pizza/67172821-ddfb-49ce-b658-ddc4ef4b5cf3
This one’s for the candy corn lovers! This “pizza” is far from traditional, but once you try it, you might find yourself making it every October!
Ingredients
• 1 cup candy corn • 1/2 cup chocolate chips • 1/4 cup vanilla frosting
• 1 roll Pillsbury Sugar Cookie Dough • 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
(store-bought or homemade)
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 F. 2. Grease a round, 12-inch pan and line with cookie dough, ensuring the dough covers all but the outer 1/2 inch. 3. Bake for 16–20 minutes until golden brown. Cool completely. 4. Spread the peanut butter over the cooled cookie dough, then sprinkle on the candy corn and chocolate chips. 5. In a small bowl, microwave the frosting for 15 seconds or until liquified. 6. Drizzle the frosting over the “pizza,” slice, and serve!
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404.891.0977 www.AttorneyRobertJames.com 233 Peachtree St. NE Suite 1200 Atlanta, GA 30303
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
Fighting Negligent Security
1
Man Sues Woman for Texting During a Movie Date Corn Mazes Date Back to Ancient Greece?
2
Halloween Cookie Pizza The Deadliest Surgery in History
3
The Tiger King Remains Behind Bars
4
The Tiger King Remains Behind Bars Judges Deny Joe Exotic’s Appeal
scheme. Victims are allowed to attend court proceedings so long as the judge decides their testimony (if they are also a witness) will not be affected by their attendance. Maldonado-Passage’s legal team asserted that Baskin was not a victim of any sort, since the murder-for-hire plot did not result in her murder. However, U.S. Circuit Court judges ruled that she still suffered emotional and financial harm because of the incident. In addition to this, since Maldonado-Passage conspired to have Baskin murdered two different times, the judge at his trial in 2019 had incorrectly considered them as two separate plots, rather than two attempts at the same murder. The U.S. Circuit Court judges ordered the trial judge to resentence him. So, even for all that trouble, Maldonado-Passage remains behind bars. However, so long as the Tiger King’s popularity continues, it won’t be surprising if Joe Exotic and his legal team keep searching for ways to get him out of prison.
Even more than a year after the release of “Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness,” Joseph Maldonado-Passage, more popularly known as Joe Exotic, continues to make headlines. Following the fame that came with having his story at the center of a wildly popular Netflix series, Maldonado-Passage saw fit to appeal his 22-year prison sentence for plotting to murder big cat rescue activist Carole Baskin on a few different grounds. However, in July, the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected his appeal. The primary reason for Maldonado-Passage’s appeal, as reported by his legal team, was that Baskin was allowed to attend the entirety of Maldonado-Passage’s trial, despite her role as a witness in the case. As a general rule, witnesses are not permitted to attend proceedings in their entirety, as other witness testimonies might affect the objectivity of their own testimony.
However, Baskin was also in attendance at the trial as a victim, since she was the target of Maldonado-Passage’s murder-for-hire
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