Trial Magazine

After school one day, Sophia Gutierrez, 7, bicycled through a school crosswalk at an intersection. Roe, who allegedly had been driving erratically, lost control of his vehicle due to a medical emergency and struck Gutierrez, killing her. She is survived by her parents and sibling.

Gutierrez’s parents filed suit against Kemp Group International—which contracted with the city to provide three crossing guards at the intersection—alleging the defendant had negligently trained and supervised its crossing guards, who, the plaintiff asserted, did not know the proper way to instruct students and families on how to cross the intersection safely. The plaintiff claimed that the crossing guards had allowed Gutierrez, her sister, and her parents to cross the intersection on their bicycles but should have instructed them to walk their bicycles to the other side.

Additionally, the plaintiff claimed that Kemp had breached its contract with the city by providing only two crossing guards to secure the intersection. Had the guards been properly instructed and trained, the plaintiff argued, they would have been positioned appropriately in the intersection and prohibited anyone from entering until the threat from the erratic driver had cleared.

The defense argued that Gutierrez’s parents and the erratic driver were at fault.

The parties settled for $3 million.

Citation: Gutierrez v. Kemp Grp. Int’l, No. CACE-23-015688 (Fla. Cir. Ct. Broward Cnty. Jan. 17, 2024).

Plaintiff counsel: AAJ member Michael Haggard and Kimberly Wald, both of Coral Gables, Fla.; and AAJ member Robert Fiore, Miami.