Thread: Trayvon Martin's parents settle wrongful-death claim

Trayvon Martin's parents settle wrongful-death claim


Homeowners association is thought to have paid more than $1 million

April 5, 2013|By Rene Stutzman, Orlando Sentinel

SANFORD — Trayvon Martin's parents have settled a wrongful-death claim for an amount thought to be more than $1 million against the homeowners association of the Sanford subdivision where their teenage son was killed.

Their attorney, Benjamin Crump, filed that paperwork at the Seminole County Courthouse, a portion of which was made public Friday.

In the five pages of the settlement that were available for public review, the settlement amount had been marked out. Lower in the agreement, the parties specified that they would keep that amount confidential.



When asked during an earlier interview whether the amount was more than $1 million, Crump said: "I have no comment on that subject … I know you did not get that from me."

Trayvon was shot to death by Neighborhood Watch volunteer George Zimmerman at the Retreat at Twin Lakes townhomes in Sanford on Feb. 26, 2012.

Zimmerman served as head of the Neighborhood Watch and called police that evening, describing Trayvon as suspicious. He has said the teen attacked him and he fired in self-defense.

The community-association manager, Kent Taylor, did not return phone calls from the Orlando Sentinel about the settlement. Neither did its attorney, Thomas R. Slaten Jr.

Robert Taylor is founding partner of Taylor & Carls P.A., a law firm that represents homeowner associations but has no connection to the Retreat at Twin Lakes.

"When claims are filed, they're filed against anybody who could possibly have any culpability," he said. Trayvon's parents must have concluded that Zimmerman's homeowners association did, he said, thus the claim.

In the settlement, the association did not admit any wrongdoing or liability. Taylor said its decision to settle was most likely a business decision.

"It's really nothing more than a risk-versus-reward analysis," Taylor said.

The association's insurer, Travelers Casualty and Surety Co. of America, filed suit in federal court in August, asking a judge to clarify its liability in the case, but that suit was dropped in November.

"Travelers is not a party to the settlement," the company said in a prepared statement. "The settlement would have been with other insurers of the homeowners association and/or the property managers."

The policy had a $1 million limit, according to federal-court records, and went into effect March 30, 2012, a few weeks after Trayvon was shot. Trayvon's mother filed a claim with the insurer after it went into effect, according to federal-court records.

During an interview in February, Zimmerman's attorney, Mark O'Mara, said Trayvon's parents had tried to settle through mediation and the association or its insurer had offered $1 million, but Trayvon's parents had rejected that amount.


O'Mara said the two parties then renewed talks and agreed to settle several months ago.

The portion of the settlement made public Friday had been edited to eliminate the names of the parties and people making payment.

"It is understood and agreed that the payment made herein is not to be construed as an admission of any liability by or on behalf of the releasing parties; but instead the monies being paid hereunder is consideration for avoiding litigation, the uncertainties stemming from litigation as well as to protect and secure the good name and good will of the released parties," the settlement said.

Under the terms of the settlement, Trayvon's parents, Sybrina Fulton and Tracy Martin, and his estate agreed to set aside their wrongful-death claim and claims for pain and suffering, loss of earnings and expenses.

Crump has made clear that he intends to file suit later against Zimmerman, and the settlement spelled out that Zimmerman was not part of this deal.

Crump provided a copy of the settlement to O'Mara's office, that of Special Prosecutor Angela Corey and the judge Thursday, according to a cover page attached to the settlement that was placed in Zimmerman's criminal-case file. It was not immediately clear whether in those versions the settlement amount was blacked out as well.

http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/...orge-zimmerman

And a copyright too.

This is ridiculous.

W

Juror: 'No doubt' that George Zimmerman feared for his life

By Dana Ford, CNN updated 5:54 AM EDT, Tue July 16, 2013

(CNN) -- One of the jurors who acquitted George Zimmerman said she had "no doubt" he feared for his life in the final moments of his struggle with Trayvon Martin, and that was the definitive factor in the verdict.

http://www.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/vi...peaks.cnn.html

The woman, who was identified just as Juror B37, spoke exclusively to CNN's "Anderson Cooper 360" on Monday night. She is the first juror to speak publicly about the case.

She said she believes Zimmerman's "heart was in the right place" the night he shot Martin, but that he didn't use "good judgment" in confronting the Florida teen.

"I think George Zimmerman is a man whose heart was in the right place, but just got displaced by the vandalism in the neighborhoods, and wanting to catch these people so badly that he went above and beyond what he really should have done," she said.

"But I think his heart was in the right place. It just went terribly wrong."
If anything, Zimmerman was guilty of not using "good judgment," the juror said.

"When he was in the car, and he had called 911, he shouldn't have gotten out of that car," she said.

She also said she believes Martin threw the first punch in the confrontation that followed.

"I think George got in a little bit too deep, which he shouldn't have been there. But Trayvon decided that he wasn't going to let him scare him ... and I think Trayvon got mad and attacked him," she said.

Zimmerman felt his life was in danger before shooting Martin, and it was his voice that was heard screaming for help in 911 calls, the juror said she believes.

"He had a right to defend himself," she said. "If he felt threatened that his life was going to be taken away from him, or he was going to have bodily harm, he had a right."

Split vote

An initial vote was divided. Three of the jurors first voted Zimmerman was guilty, while three voted he was not guilty, she said. Juror B37 was among those who believed he was not guilty from the start.

"There was a couple of them in there that wanted to find him guilty of something and after hours and hours and hours of deliberating over the law, and reading it over and over and over again, we decided there's just no way, other place to go," she said.

Jurors were not identified by name during the trial, which sparked a broad debate about gun laws and race in America.

The juror said she did not believe Zimmerman profiled Martin, who was African-American, because of the color of his skin.

She believes he thought Martin was suspicious because of the way he acted.

"Anybody would think anybody walking down the road, stopping and turning and looking -- if that's exactly what happened -- is suspicious," she said.

"I think all of us thought race did not play a role," the juror said . "We never had that discussion."

At one point during the interview, she grew emotional and her voice cracked. She said jurors cried after putting in their vote.

"It's a tragedy this happened. But it happened," the juror said.

"And I think both were responsible for the situation they had gotten themselves into. I think both of them could have walked away. It just didn't happen."

Book plans canceled

The juror was planning to write a book about her experience with the case, literary agent Sharlene Martin said before her interview aired.

But hours later, the agent released a statement from Juror B37 saying she would no longer write one.

"Now that I am returned to my family and to society in general, I have realized that the best direction for me to go is away from writing any sort of book and return instead to my life as it was before I was called to sit on this jury," the juror said.

"I realize it was necessary for our jury to be sequestered in order to (protect) our verdict from unfair outside influence, but that isolation shielded me from the depth of pain that exists among the general public over every aspect of this case."

http://www.cnn.com/2013/07/15/justic...html?hpt=hp_t1

Another special interest group that is based on ethnicity and tribalism instead of ideals.

If America citizens are labeled Nativists, then people that come here and promote their agenda based on ethnicity should be called Tribalists...

Sounds like the White Housed muslim brotherhood members are rallying their tribes.....
AMERICAN-ARAB GROUP JOINS NAACP TO DEMAND FEDERAL CHARGES AGAINST ZIMMERMAN




by AWR HAWKINS
15 Jul 2013


Following the "not guilty" verdict against George Zimmerman, the Arab-American Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) sent an email to supporters announcing they have partnered with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) to pressure the Justice Department (DOJ) into "[opening] a civil rights case against George Zimmerman."

The email opens with these words:

By now, you have probably heard that a Florida jury found George Zimmerman not guilty of murdering Trayvon Martin.
When a teenager's life is taken in cold blood and there is no accountability for the man who killed him, nothing seems right in the world. But we cannot lose hope. We can still achieve justice for Trayvon!

The email then tells how ADC is joining forces with the NAACP and asks supporters to sign a petition to pressure the DOJ to act.

ADC has built a reputation for holding intensely anti-Israel positions in the past. In fact, my colleague Joel Pollak has shown that ADC is "so anti-Israel that it gave an award to former journalist Helen Thomas after her anti-Jewish views had been exposed."

Chuck Hagel gave a speech to an ADC gathering in 2008 for which he took heavy scrutiny from Breitbart News once he was nominated for Secretary of Defense.

http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Governm...inst-Zimmerman

Reminder.
Trayvon's mother trademarks her son's name as merchandise hits stands throughout Florida

Sabrina Fulton filed a patent application to trademark 'I Am Trayvon' and 'Justice For Trayvon'



Former NAACP leader calls Reverends Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson 'buzzards circling the carcass of a young boy'


By MEGHAN KENEALLY
PUBLISHED: 18:56 EST, 26 March 2012 | UPDATED: 02:25 EST, 27 March 2012
6
View
comments




Protecting his name: Sabrina Fulton filed a patent application for the phrases 'I am Trayvon' and 'Justice for Trayvon'

The mother of slain Trayvon Martin recently filed a trademark to protect the rights to his name as an attempt to control- and collect funds from- the masses of merchandise being produced in support of their cause.

It was revealed today that Sabrina Fulton, the boy’s mother, filed two petitions last week to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to specifically gain the rights to the phrases ‘I Am Trayvon’ and ‘Justice For Trayvon’, both of which have been frequently used by protesters across the country.

The trademark application shows that she is specifically looking for control of the use of those phrases on CDs and DVDs that feature her deceased son.

Rest of the story at:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...sons-name.html