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JURY RETURNS $330 MILLION VERDICT IN DUI CIVIL SUIT
Plaintiff Angela Stone, next to lead attorney Steve Yerrid, right, celebrate with legal team
A six-woman jury returned what's believed to be the largest civil damages verdict in Hernando County history Wednesday when they awarded Angela Stone $55 million dollars in compensatory damages and $275 million in punitive damages for the death of her daughter at the hands of a drunk driver two years ago. Her attorney Steve Yerrid told the jury in closing argument that their verdict "needs to be large" to deter drinking and driving, and also urged the jury to "send a message loud and clear." Stone's 12-year old daughter Shelby Hagman died in April 2007 when her grandparents' car was hit broadside by a truck driven by Christopher Marcone, then 25-years old and now two years into a 13-year prison sentence for DUI manslaughter. As the jury filed out after the verdict was announced, Stone hugged each jury member.
The verdict came after less than a full day of testimony and barely 15 minutes of deliberation following Judge Stephen Rushing's reply to their question about an appeal of their verdict, which told them any appeal was not a matter they should consider.
Yerrid was asked later about the next steps in attempting to collect money for Stone and said the verdict could be helpful in a pending products liability case arising out the accident. In that case, he's arguing that a defective seat belt contributed to the severity of the girl's injuries. A Hernando County emergency medical technician testified Tuesday that the girl's head was entangled in the seat belt and her feet were in the air. Yerrid said in response to questions about other sources of payment that there was a confidentiality agreement involved.
Marcone was the named defendant. He was represented by Bryan Reynolds, a Tampa lawyer known for insurance defense. Reynolds did not cross-examine any witnesses or present a defense case, nor did he make a closing argument except to take 20 seconds to thank jury members for their service. Later he declined to comment on whether any insurance money might be available to pay the verdict amount.
Earlier Wednesday Stone testified about how the death of her only child had impacted her life and would continue to do so.
Although several court veterans believed the verdict was the highest ever in a Hernando County court, a previous high verdict could not be immediately determined. One long time local court observer who follows verdicts statewide speculated that it could even be the highest wrongful death damage amount ever awarded anywhere in Florida.
FIRE DAMAGES HOME IN SOUTH SPRING HILL
A Spring Hill home was heavily damaged by a fire late Tuesday night. Fire officials say they responded to 259 Sawyer Avenue, off south Waterfall Drive near County Line Road, shortly after 10:30 and found the home's lanai engulfed in flames. Spring Hill firefighters put out the blaze, but not before authorities say the fire got into the home's attic. The house also suffered smoke and water damage throughout. No injuries were reported. Spring Hill Fire Chief Mike Rampino said he did not want to speculate on whether lack of fire coverage in the area contributed to the damage, but the home was located just south of an area in central Spring Hill where Rampino is recommending a new fire station to improve response times.
GRAND JURY TO HEAR ABUSED BABY CASE THURSDAY
McBurnett 
Underwood Hernando News Source has learned that a grand jury session has been called for Thursday. The grand jury will be led by an assistant state attorney, and sources familiar with grand jury summonses say that the panel will be looking into the death of one-year old Hunter Morris earlier in September. The infant died after what sheriff's investigators described as a series of abusive actions by 19-year old David McBurnett, Jr., who's been charged with murder. The baby's mother, 19-year old Breanna Underwood, who was living with McBurnett and his mother at the time has reportedly been summoned to give testimony.
OPENING, OPERATION OF NEW SOUTH BROOKSVILLE FACILITY IN DOUBT
The future of the brand new Sheriff's Office substation and community center in south Brooksville is up in the air this week. Sheriff Richard Nugent is closing four other substations as a reaction to County Board budget cuts, and he says the money to open and operate the just-completed building on MLK Blvd. may not be there. The substations and the DARE drug abuse school program are the most prominent victims of the Sheriff's decisions on how to spend the money allocated to law enforcement, which was more than a million and a half dollars less that what Nugent had requested.
HIGH-TECH CROSSING SIGNAL PLANNED FOR GOOD NEIGHBOR TRAIL
Jefferson-Trail crossing now
Coming soon? County transportation planners say there is one south Brooksville improvement that is being targeted for installation this budget year. It's a special signal for East Jefferson Street traffic and users of the Good Neighbor Trail which would flash red for trail users and yellow for motorists, based on a motion sensor to detect approaching pedestrians or bicyclists and using solar power. The signal installation would cost about $20,000, and the Metropolitan Planning Organization approved it as a priority at a meeting Tuesday. Planners said they were concerned about the speed limit on the busy highway and the lack of visibility for trail users as indicating the need for a signal.
VACANT TOP SCHOOL JOB GETS NEW APPLICANTS
Talley 
Stellar Three new applications for the permanent Hernando school superintendent job have been received by school district officials. The latest applicants are Wayne Talley, currently an assistant superintendent in Avery County, North Carolina; Art Stellar, presently Superintendent in Taunton, Massachusetts; and John Phillips, who was most recently an education professor at Claflin University in South Carolina and has prior administrative experience in the Atlanta and Charleston school systems. The first applicant, Jayne Risen Morgenthal, is superintendent of schools in Elizabethtown, Kentucky.
CORRECTED: 'GIGANTIC' PUBLIC RECORDS REQUEST
Jouben What a county lawyer termed a "gigantic" public records request has county officials at odds with a local citizen. Ty Mullis, who is employed with A Civil Design, says he asked for all e-mails sent or received by county staff from February to the end of August, but limited the request to a few specific departments to make the request more manageable. He provided an external hard drive and paid $775 dollars for more than 60 gigabytes of e-mails, but he says he didn't get everything he wanted. Now he's asking for all e-mails in that period and has hired a lawyer to press his case. But Assistant County Attorney Jon Jouben wrote to Mullis lawyer Robert Morris this week and asked him to consider a more limited request since each e-mail has to be screened for public records exemptions or confidentiality issues and "the cost of such screening will most likely be prohibitively expensive." Jouben, who has been with the attorney's office for more than four years, said the Mullis request was the largest he had seen.
[CORRECTION: A previous version of this story reported that Mullis was an engineer, which is not correct. He is employed by an engineering firm but is not licensed as an engineer. He also said his request was made as a private citizen and has nothing to do with his employer.]
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JURY RETURNS $330 MILLION VERDICT IN DUI CIVIL SUIT
A six-woman jury returned what's believed to be the largest civil damages verdict in Hernando County history Wednesday when they awarded Angela Stone $55 million dollars in compensatory damages and $275 million in punitive damages for the death of her daughter at the hands of a drunk driver two years ago. Her attorney Steve Yerrid told the jury in closing argument that their verdict "needs to be large" to deter drinking and driving, and also urged the jury to "send a message loud and clear." Stone's 12-year old daughter Shelby Hagman died in April 2007 when her grandparents' car was hit broadside by a truck driven by Christopher Marcone, then 25-years old and now two years into a 13-year prison sentence for DUI manslaughter. As the jury filed out after the verdict was announced, Stone hugged each jury member.
Yerrid was asked later about the next steps in attempting to collect money for Stone and said the verdict could be helpful in a pending products liability case arising out the accident. In that case, he's arguing that a defective seat belt contributed to the severity of the girl's injuries. A Hernando County emergency medical technician testified Tuesday that the girl's head was entangled in the seat belt and her feet were in the air. Yerrid said in response to questions about other sources of payment that there was a confidentiality agreement involved.
Marcone was the named defendant. He was represented by Bryan Reynolds, a Tampa lawyer known for insurance defense. Reynolds did not cross-examine any witnesses or present a defense case, nor did he make a closing argument except to take 20 seconds to thank jury members for their service. Later he declined to comment on whether any insurance money might be available to pay the verdict amount.
Earlier Wednesday Stone testified about how the death of her only child had impacted her life and would continue to do so.
FIRE DAMAGES HOME IN SOUTH SPRING HILL
GRAND JURY TO HEAR ABUSED BABY CASE THURSDAY
McBurnett UnderwoodOPENING, OPERATION OF NEW SOUTH BROOKSVILLE FACILITY IN DOUBT
HIGH-TECH CROSSING SIGNAL PLANNED FOR GOOD NEIGHBOR TRAIL
Jefferson-Trail crossing nowComing soon?VACANT TOP SCHOOL JOB GETS NEW APPLICANTS
Talley StellarCORRECTED: 'GIGANTIC' PUBLIC RECORDS REQUEST
Jouben[CORRECTION: A previous version of this story reported that Mullis was an engineer, which is not correct. He is employed by an engineering firm but is not licensed as an engineer. He also said his request was made as a private citizen and has nothing to do with his employer.]
I would like to clarify that I am not a Professional Engineer and I have never represented that I am.
Also, this record request is a personal issue and it is not related to my job in any way.
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