Apartment complex residents and their visitors don’t expect to have their lives cut short randomly by gun violence, yet that is what happens all too often when property owners fail to take adequate measures to protect their premises from criminal activity.
Any experienced premises liability lawyer has seen first-hand the heart-wrenching and senseless tragedies that happen when property owners fail in their duty to adequately protect residents and others who are lawfully on their property. Knowing that these traumatizing and family-shattering tragedies are preventable is all the more agonizing. It’s what drives us to serve those harmed by senseless and avoidable acts of violence and to hold accountable those whose negligence allowed it to happen.
Beasley Allen represents the family of a mother who was gunned down in front of her young son at their Athens, Georgia apartment complex on July 22, 2019. Auriel Callaway and her young son were walking through the common area of the Clarke Gardens Apartments where they lived when gunfire broke out in another location of the complex. Bullets struck Ms. Callaway in the heart and lungs as she clutched her son. Pregnant at the time, Ms. Callaway and her unborn child died at the complex. While her son survived, he will live the rest of his days traumatized by what he witnessed.
Media outlets throughout the country picked up the news of Ms. Callaway’s tragic death. Last year, Beasley Allen’s Atlanta-based personal injury and premises liability lawyers, Parker Miller and Rob Register, filed a lawsuit against Clarke Gardens Apartment Complex and its management on behalf of Ms. Callaway’s family. The lawsuit alleges the defendants failed to take reasonable measures to protect residents and guests. The case remains ongoing and preparations for trial are underway.
According to the lawsuit, the Athens apartment complex “was poorly maintained.” The apartment buildings had become a haven for gun violence and other violent crime that continually threatened residents and guests before the shooting that caused Ms. Callaway’s death. Clarke Gardens Apartments and its management were aware of the problem. They knew more had to be done, yet they refused to take the necessary steps to protect residents.
For instance, the apartment complex and its management had no meaningful security measures in place despite the crime that plagued residents. Beasley Allen’s premises liability lawyers also allege that the defendants failed to expel the criminals and dangerous individuals who threatened residents and guests. The defendants also failed to conduct reasonable inspections that could have revealed the dangerous conditions and security vulnerabilities. Due to the defendants’ poor oversight and property management negligence, the safety and well-being of those who lived at Clarke Gardens Apartments continued to deteriorate. Adding to the problem was the defendants’ failure to warn residents about these dangerous conditions.
The refusal of Clarke Gardens Apartments to confront the dangerous circumstances that led to Ms. Callaway’s tragic death has left her son without his mother and forced him to witness what no child should ever have to see – his mother’s terrifying last moments on earth. While we cannot bring her back or erase that horrific night, we can seek justice for the family and accountability for the defendants’ negligence.
– Parker Miller, Premises Liability Lawyer
Under the law, owners of apartment complexes and other establishments owe a duty to patrons, including residents and guests, to ensure that the premises are reasonably safe and secure from anticipated dangers. Our premises liability lawyers allege that Clarke Garden Apartments failed in this duty, and its failure led to the tragedy that forever changed the Callaway family.
The complaint in this case is Lashanda Callaway v. Clarke Gardens Apartments, et al., filed in the Superior Court of Athens-Clarke County Georgia (case number SU20CV0185). Our premises liability lawyers are working with Gregory M. Stokes and Neil J. Kopitsky of Stokes and Kopitsky in representing the Callaway family. Natanya Brooks, a lawyer with Brooks Injury Law, represents the unborn child in the case.
When considering premises liability lawyers to handle your claim, experience and a proven track record are critical to a successful case. Beasley Allen has earned the reputation of being one of the most successful personal injury and premises liability law firms in the United States. Our premises liability lawyers have built a national reputation for handling cases involving serious injuries with exceptional skill, diligence, and success.
Our firm has the resources to represent clients throughout the country while never losing sight of the individual. Every person who has suffered a serious injury or been killed through no fault of their due to negligent security and other premises liability matters deserves justice.
If you have any questions for our premises liability lawyers or need more information about this case or relating to premises liability and negligent security cases, contact Parker Miller or Rob Register via the contact form on this page.
