City officials will look to settle another lawsuit stemming from a car accident caused by an Ocala Police Department officer for $135,000, just a few months after settling two other similar lawsuits for $316,000.
The settlement will come before the Ocala City Council for a final vote during its regular meeting on Tuesday, December 3.
According to a city staff report, on April 8, 2022, an Ocala Police Department vehicle attempted to cross S Pine Avenue and struck a vehicle occupied by Michael and Terry Yaple. The staff report indicates that the city employee operating the vehicle was at fault.
“It is evident that the City’s driver violated the Plaintiffs’ right-of-way and caused the collision that resulted,” reads the report.
In May 2023, the Yaples filed a lawsuit against the City of Ocala in the Fifth Judicial Circuit Court of Marion County. In their lawsuit, they named Officer Alexander Roos as the individual operating the vehicle. In 2019, Ocala-News.com reported another crash involving Roos. The officer, who was not responsible for that crash, was hit by a driver who ran a red light at the time.
The Yaples’ case was litigated for several months and was gearing up for trial. In January, Mr. Yaple passed away “for reasons unrelated” to the case, according to a memo prepared by Ocala City Manager Pete Lee.
In October, the parties met for mediation. Prior to that meeting, Mrs. Yaple’s last demand to the city was for “sovereign immunity limits of $300,000.”
After negotiations, the city’s final offer was a “global offer of $125,000.” Mrs. Yaple’s final demand at mediation was $145,000, which resulted in an impasse for the parties.
Attorneys representing Mrs. Yaple filed proposals for settlement after that mediation that totaled $250,000.
In his memo, Lee notes that if the city were to “proceed to trial, the Plaintiffs would be entitled to attorneys’ fees if either Plaintiff obtained a judgment in an amount at least 25% greater than their respective proposal amount.”
In an effort to resolve the case “without further litigation extending into 2025,” the city’s attorney’s office reinitiated negotiations and conveyed a tentative global offer of $135,000.
That offer was accepted by Mrs. Yaple and must now be presented to the city council for final approval.
“Given the city’s apparent liability for the accident, the issue at trial would not be whether the City is responsible for the Plaintiffs’ damages; rather, the issue would be the extent of the Plaintiffs’ damages,” reads Lee’s memo. He goes on to state that an agreement would avoid “additional costs of continued litigation – including discovery costs, expert witness fees, and other expenses.”
The settlement proposal comes just a few months after the city settled two similar lawsuits.
