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Jason Brenner, left, and Douglas McCarron, right.[/caption] Coral Gables trial attorneys Jason Brenner and Doug McCarron of the Haggard Law Firm secured a $3 million settlement for their client Dennis Gore, who was shot six times while visiting a North Miami Beach property.

Brenner and McCarron argued that the security provided by United Property Management and C & F Properties, also known as Suncoast Place Apartments, was severely inadequate.

The original complaint, filed on May 4, 2016, claimed that Suncoast Place employees should have been able to foresee such an attack, especially considering its crime-ridden location. "Suncoast was in a superior position to appreciate such dangers and take necessary steps to prevent harm to its tenants and invitees," according to the complaint. When Gore left work on May 3, 2014, he played flag football with a friend before heading to his mother's apartment at 999 NE 167th St, where they spent the evening watching a playoff basketball game. A few hours later, feeling sore from the day's football game, Gore suggested he and his friend make a trip to Walgreens for a bandage. On their way to the car, Gore realized he'd forgotten his wallet. "Pick me up around the side," he told his friend, then headed upstairs. On his way back down with the wallet, Gore walked past a stranger in the stairwell. "Hey," said the stranger, prompting Gore to turn around. The man was pointing a gun at him, and before Gore could make it to the exit he was grabbed by another man. Gore then broke free but was shot as he ran. One bullet fractured Gore's hip, while another caused a grade 5 kidney injury. "Essentially, his kidney exploded," Brenner said. Portions of Gore's intestinal tract were also perforated, requiring him to have a colon resection. Considering the severity of his injuries, Gore was lucky to survive, according to his lawyers. The challenge in that, from Brenner and McCarron's perspective, though, was ensuring that the physical evidence of the case corresponded exactly with the surviving victim's recollection of events. "Unfortunately, a lot of these cases result in death and you don’t have anyone to verify what’s happened," Brenner said. "And that can be, in terms of your case, a positive and a negative. Same thing with the surviving victim. You know, depending on what they recall, it could be a positive and negative to the case." The apartment complex consisted of two five-story buildings with parking on the interior. For residents and visitors, there was one way in and one way out. "In this type of layout it’s actually a very easy place to secure," Brenner said, "so long as you keep it functioning properly in terms of the vehicular gate." But according to testimony Brenner and McCarron gathered, the gate was constantly broken. Allowing security measures such as gates, cameras and lights to remain broken for long stretches was arguably worse than not implementing them at all, from Brenner's point of view.. "It sends an even worse message to the criminals in the area that this is a property that’s neglected, that there’s no guardian of it," he said. To solidify their case, the attorneys used testimony from other victims to expose what they argued was a constant lack of action in response to continual crime. One of the accounts came from a resident of 17 years, whose car had been vandalized on site. "He testified that the gate would be fixed, then two weeks later be broken, and then it would stay broken for a couple months, and they’d fix it again," Brenner said. "It was just repeated over and over and over again." Further testimony revealed that the emergency exit door the criminals used to enter the building was also consistently broken or propped open, allowing anyone to gain access into the stairwell from the street. "So they either know about it and didn’t do anything, or they didn’t know about it. And I don’t know which one is worse," says McCarron. The attack was characterized by the defense as a robbery gone bad, a stance rather typical of defendants in negligent security cases, according to McCarron. "It’s one of those situations that we’re used to, where they go after our victims or try to establish a case that they had something to do with the fact that they were a victim," he said. Most important when navigating a case like this, McCarron says, is attention to detail. "These cases don’t just make themselves. You need to go find the witnesses, you need to go out, work the other people and prepare," McCarron said. By ensuring the case was trial-ready, they were ultimately able to eradicate the need for a trial. Within days of submitting a list of experts to be deposed, the parties canceled the depositions and settled the case. The defendants were represented by Devang Desai, a partner at Gaebe, Mullen, Antonelli & DiMatteo, and Michael A. Holtmann and Cary Capper of Wicker Smith O'Hara McCoy & Ford. They agreed to settle April 24, prompting Miami-Dade County Circuit Judge Barbara Areces to dismiss the case with prejudice on May 8. Opposing counsel did not respond to requests for comment by deadline. However, in answer to the plaintiff's complaint, they stated that "the plaintiff's alleged damages herein, if any, were caused in whole or in part by his own negligence and should be reduced and/or extinguished accordingly." Gore continues to have issues with his gait, also suffering from radiating sciatica and back pain. "But he doesn’t let it keep him down, I’ll tell you that," Brenner said. When asked what will stick with him the most about this case, McCarron didn't hesitate. "Dennis’ face when we told him the number that we were able to finally obtain," he said. McCarron began his 22-year career at the State Attorney’s Office, where he prosecuted cases as an assistant state attorney. From there, he transitioned to private practice and has been at the Haggard Firm since 2006. The majority of his work involves negligent security, road construction and catastrophic auto litigation, as well as cases involving drowning. Brenner has been practicing at the Haggard Firm since 2010, specializing in negligent security and personal injury cases involving catastrophic injuries and wrongful death. Case: Dennis Gore v. C & F Properties LLC., d/b/a Suncoast Place Apartments, and United Property Management Inc. Case No.: 2016011284CA04 Description: Negligent security Filing date: May 4, 2016 Settlement date: April 24, 2018 Judge: Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Barbara Areces Plaintiffs attorneys: Jason R. Brenner and Douglas J. McCarron, The Haggard Law Firm, Coral Gables Defense attorneys: Cary W. Capper and Michael A. Holtmann, Wicker Smith O'Hara McCoy & Ford, Coral Gables; and Devang Desai, Gaebe, Mullen, Antonelli & DiMatteo, Coral Gables Settlement amount: $3 million