The insurance company for restaurant operator Reyan Group declined to resolve the case for the restaurant group's $1 million limit after claiming Reyan did not own the establishment at the time of the incident. Lawyers for the plaintiff untangled a web of shell companies during the trial and discovered that Reyan did, in fact, own the restaurant when the shooting occurred. (Credit: Lukas Gojda)
Three days into a Fulton County State Court jury trial, Atlanta litigators on opposite sides of the aisle settled a premises liability dispute for $3.49 million.
Now the plaintiff and defense attorneys behind the seven-figure resolution are opening up about how discovery and negotiation challenges led the case into, and back out of, the courtroom before jurors could render a verdict.
'Know when to fold 'em'
Plaintiff attorney Edward Piasta teamed with fellow Piasta Newbern Walker attorneys Andrew Hagenbush, Christopher Newbern and Michael Walker to represent Brandon Clark after his visit to a South Atlanta restaurant turned violent. Shortly after patronizing JJ Fish & Chicken on Pryor Road in July 2019, plaintiff counsel said Clark "sustained serious and permanent injuries" when an assailant named Jermaine Jackson fired multiple shots at Clark during an attempted armed robbery. The aggravated assault occurred outside the restaurant in a gas station plaza parking lot, but plaintiff counsel contended Clark, as a customer, had been an invitee of the restaurant at the time of his injuries.
Seeking punitive damages for "pain and suffering, disability, physical impairment, disfigurement, mental anguish, inconvenience, and loss of capacity for the enjoyment of life sustained in the past and to be sustained in the future," the plaintiff filed a complaint against the restaurant operator, Reyan Group LLC, and the premises landlord, Yash Enterprises.
"The Chevron gas station and premises owner, Yash Enterprises, settled during the litigation for $999,000 of its $1 million policy," Piasta said.
As defense counsel for Yash Enterprises, Cruser, Mitchell, Novitz, Sanchez, Gaston & Zimet partner Bill Mitchell said he'd advised his landlord client to settle in October 2020 after conducting an early evaluation that included assessing the risks faced and having "many frank conversations" with plaintiff counsel.
"At the end of the day, we opted for a mutually agreeable early resolution so as to protect our client from an excess verdict and the insurer from maybe $200,000+ in legal fees," Mitchell said. "As Kenny Rogers sang in 'The Gambler,' 'You got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em.'"
But the landlord's restaurant co-defendant didn't follow suit. Piasta said Reyan Group's insurer, Am Guard Insurance Co., declined to resolve the case for the defendant's $1 million policy limits after claiming Reyan Group had not owned the restaurant at the time of Clark's injuries.
"Reyan Group LLC sold the restaurant to JJ Fish Pryor Rd, Inc. via a purchase sales agreement over a year before the incident," Piasta said. "That was problematic for us because JJ Fish Pryor Rd, Inc. was uninsured."
But plaintiff counsel said the insurance hurdle didn't stop the litigators from taking the case to trial more than three years later.
'Flipped the case'
On Feb. 13, counsel for plaintiff Clark and defendant Reyan Group gathered before Fulton County State Court Judge Wesley B. Tailor and jurors to begin a weeklong trial. Plaintiff counsel centered its trial strategy around Reyan Group's alleged negligence that proximately caused Clark's injuries. Clark's attorneys argued the restaurant had foreseeable knowledge of violent crime but failed to "take reasonable steps to design or implement a security plan."
"Before Clark was shot multiple times, the assailant told an employee working at JJ Fish & Chicken that he wanted to rob Clark. Although the assailant told one of the Defendant's employees that he wanted to rob Clark, Defendant did not warn Clark, hit one of the numerous panic buttons, or call/alert police or security," plaintiff counsel argued in a consolidated pretrial motion. "Instead, Reyan Group did nothing with this information. The manager at the door was playing a video game with his phone, versus keeping the premise safe."
Plaintiff counsel argued the restaurant lacked its own security "even though violent crime and potentially violent crime was foreseeable on the premises," but defense counsel countered the stance.
'Contributed to the risk'
Galloway Johnson Tompkins Burr & Smith attorneys Kenny R. Cantrell, Tujuana S. McGee and M. Austin Moretz handled Reyan Group's defense but did not respond to a Daily Report request for comment.
The defense team argued premises liability lay with the landlord since it'd removed plaza security, and the armed robbery that injured Clark occurred in its plaza parking lot, per plaintiff counsel. In addition to challenging plaintiff counsel's foreseeability argument on grounds Reyan Group had not had an incident in the restaurant, defense counsel contended the plaintiff contributed to his own injuries "because he had a large amount of cash in a South Atlanta small restaurant," per plaintiff counsel.
"Brandon Clark created or substantially contributed to the risk created," defense counsel argued in a consolidated pretrial order. "Defendant was neither the proximate cause nor actual cause for Brandon Clark's injuries."
But as the trial proceeded into its third day, plaintiff counsel said it made a discovery that "flipped the case" and led the defendant to settle for "250% of its $1 million policy during the trial." Piasta said his team obtained a document that contradicted the status of Reyan Group's ownership in the restaurant it'd claimed to have sold to JJ Fish Pryor Rd, Inc. prior to the plaintiff being assaulted.
"We spent considerable resources connecting the dots of the shell game between Reyan Group, LLC and JJ Fish Pryor Rd, Inc," Piasta said. "It turned out that they actually just issued powers of attorney to allow JJ Fish Pryor Road Inc. to operate the restaurant without relinquishing control."
'Chose to gamble'
With Reyan Group's $2.5 million settlement secured, plaintiff counsel resolved Clark's premises liability case against both defendants for a combined total of $1,000 shy of $3.5 million. Plaintiff counsel said they're pleased with the outcome, noting their client "is thrilled to have closure."
"It was obvious the owner of the restaurant was happy to resolve the case, as well," Piasta said. "Unfortunately, the insurance company initially chose to gamble his assets and forced us to try the case by denying multiple offers to settle the case within the policy limits at trial."
As part of the settlement agreement, Clark has agreed to voluntarily dismiss his complaint against Reyan Group with prejudice within 14 days of receipt of payment.
© Touchpoint Markets, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to TMSalesOperations@arc-network.com. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.