Security Provider HBC Cleared In Navy Yard Shooting Suits
Washington DC Sept 8 2017 A D.C. federal judge on Friday tossed allegations against security providers HBC Management Services Inc. and the Hana Group Inc. for allegedly failing to prevent a deadly Navy Yard shooting in 2013, but kept alive claims that the shooter’s direct employer Experts Inc. and its contractor Enterprise Services LLC mishandled his retention and supervision.
U.S. District Judge Rosemary M. Collyer tossed surviving Navy Yard workers’ negligence claims against HBC, saying the security provider wasn’t aware that the shooter Aaron Alexis had underlying mental issues that could lead to violence. The court also dismissed negligent hiring claims against Experts and Enterprise Services, but kept alive allegations of negligent retention and supervision, since management at both companies knew Alexis was acting strangely a month prior to the Sept. 16, 2013, shooting.
The court in September trimmed claims in nine separate lawsuits against Experts and Enterprise Services brought by survivors and victims of the shooting, but kept alive allegations that Alexis’ employers mishandled his retention and supervision. The six suits at issue Friday were not yet before the court in September, though the companies’ dismissal bids were similarly addressed.
As in September, the court tossed claims of negligent hiring, noting the companies conducted sufficient background checks for Alexis, but kept alive survivors’ allegations that Experts and Enterprise Services should have known Alexis could become violent. Management at the companies was at least somewhat aware of Alexis’ volatility in August 2013, when he repeatedly claimed he was being followed, according to the filing.
“Without a fully developed factual record, it is not possible to determine the degree to which Enterprise Services and [Experts] had actual or constructive knowledge of Mr. Alexis’ volatility that might have imposed a duty on them to take further action,” the court said in the filing. “Accordingly, plaintiffs’ claims that Enterprise Services and [Experts] failed to adequately retain and supervise Mr. Alexis will proceed to discovery.”
Additionally, the court dismissed allegations of negligent infliction of emotional distress against Experts and Enterprise Services, which were not addressed in the September opinion. The survivors had not proven that the companies were responsible for protecting them from emotional injuries, the court said.
“We were not surprised that the same fate befell the six new cases that befell the original nine,” Experts’ counsel Jeffrey E. McFadden of Stradley Ronon Stevens & Young LLP said, adding he’s “very pleased with the decisions” and looks forward to summary judgment.
The court tossed allegations against HBC since the survivors had not alleged that the company had prior knowledge of Alexis’ August 2013 behavior, making his mass shooting unforeseeable.
Counsel for the plaintiffs, Enterprise Services and HBC didn’t respond Tuesday to requests for comment.
The plaintiffs are represented by Shaketta A. Denson of ChasenBoscolo, David M. Schloss of Koonz McKenney Johnson DePaolis & Lightfoot LLP and Benjamin Boscolo of Chasen & Boscolo.
Enterprise Services is represented by John E. Hall, Jason C. Raofield and Colin P. Watson of Covington & Burling LLP. Experts is represented by Jeffrey E. McFadden and Mark E. Chopko of Stradley Ronon Stevens & Young. HBC and Hana are represented by Mariana D. Bravo and Matthew D. Berkowitz of Carr Maloney PC.
The cases are Dotlyn Jograj v. Enterprise Services LLC et al., case number 1:16-cv-01846, Rosalind Parker v. Enterprise Services LLC et al., case number 1:16-cv-01847, Lori Lee Stultz et al. v. Enterprise Services LLC et al., case number 1:16-cv-01848, Douglas Levitas et al. v. Enterprise Services LLC et al., case number 1:16-cv-01849, Jerome Boyd v. The Experts Inc. et al., case number 1:16-cv-02037, Sherrie T. Lawson v. The Experts Inc. et al., case number 1:16-cv-02038, all in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
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