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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
A bill to be entitled 1
An act for the relief of Marcus Button by the Pasco 2
County School Board; providing an appropriation to 3
compensate Marcus Button for harms and losses he 4
sustained as a result of the negligence of an employee 5
of the Pasco County School Board; providing an 6
appropriation to repay Mark Button, now deceased, and 7
Robin Button, as the surviving parent and natural 8
guardian of Marcus Button, for harms and losses they 9
sustained as a result of the injury to their child, 10
Marcus Button; providing a limitation on the payment 11
of compensation and attorney fees; providing an 12
effective date. 13
14
WHEREAS, on the morning of September 22, 2006, Jessica 15
Juettner picked up 16 -year-old Marcus Button at his home in 16
order to drive him to Wesley Chapel High School, where both were 17
students, and 18
WHEREAS, as Ms. Juettner drove to school west on State Road 19
54, Pasco County, Florida, Marcus Button realized he had left 20
his wallet at home, and Ms . Juettner turned her Dodge Neon 21
subcompact car around and headed back to his home, and 22
WHEREAS, as Ms. Juettner's car approached Meadow Pointe 23
Boulevard, John E. Kinne, an employee of the Pasco County School 24
Board, acting within the course and scope of h is employment, was 25
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
driving a 35-foot school bus owned by the Pasco County School 26
Board, and pulled out in front of her, and 27
WHEREAS, although Ms. Juettner slammed on the brakes, her 28
car's left front struck the bus between the wheels and continued 29
under the bus which crushed the car's left front and roof, and 30
WHEREAS, while Ms. Juettner suffered a knee and other minor 31
injuries, Marcus Button, who was riding in the front passenger 32
seat, sustained facial and skull fractures, brain damage, and 33
bleeding and vision loss, and 34
WHEREAS, Mr. Kinne and his "relief" driver, Linda Bone, 35
were the only people on the bus and were not seriously injured, 36
and 37
WHEREAS, Marcus Button was airlifted to St. Joseph's 38
Children's Hospital, where he spent three (3) weeks recovering , 39
and then was transferred to Tampa General Hospital for 40
rehabilitation for an additional six (6) weeks, and 41
WHEREAS, Marcus Button sustained severe, widespread 42
neurologic systems damage, had to relearn how to walk and 43
currently cannot walk for any substa ntial length of time without 44
pain, lost the use of his right eye, cannot look up or down with 45
his left eye, and suffered facial fractures that twisted and 46
left his face badly disfigured with one side of his face higher 47
than the other, and 48
WHEREAS, as the operator of a school bus, Mr. Kinne had the 49
duty to drive the bus in a safe manner and in accordance with 50
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
Florida law, but he failed to do so, and 51
WHEREAS, in 2007, Marcus Button's parents, Mark Button and 52
Robin Button, sued the Pasco County School Board for the harms 53
and losses caused by the negligence of its employee, and 54
WHEREAS, during the subsequent trial, a pediatric 55
rehabilitation doctor and a neuropsychologist testified 56
unopposed that, because of the crash injuries, Marcus Button 57
will require 24-hour care, counseling, interventions, medical 58
care, and medications for the remainder of his life to cope with 59
his physical symptoms and to control his psychotic and 60
delusional behavior from the crash injuries, and that Marcus 61
Button continues to suffer cra sh-related memory loss, has 62
trouble sleeping, and struggles to concentrate and stay on task, 63
and 64
WHEREAS, an expert economist who testified unopposed at 65
trial estimated Marcus Button's future care will cost between 66
$6,000,000.00 and $10,000,000.00 and his inability to work will 67
result in the loss of between $365,000.00 and $570,000.00 in 68
wages over his lifetime, and 69
WHEREAS, the trial court ordered the Pasco County School 70
Board to pay final judgments of $1,380,967.39 to Marcus Button 71
and $289,396.85 to Ma rk Button, now deceased, and Robin Button, 72
and 73
WHEREAS, the Pasco County School Board has paid $163,000 of 74
the $200,000 statutory limit applicable at the time the claim 75
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
arose pursuant to s. 768.28, Florida Statutes 2009, to Marcus 76
Button and to Mark Button, now deceased, and Robin Button, as 77
the surviving parent and natural guardian of Marcus Button, as 78
partial compensation for the harms and losses caused by the 79
crash, and 80
WHEREAS, since the judgments were entered, the Pasco County 81
School Board did not appeal these judgments, and the parties 82
have agreed to a total settlement in the amount of $1,200,00.00 83
to forever and completely relieve the Pasco County School Board 84
of any and all further responsibility regarding the crash that 85
occurred on September 22, 2006, NOW, THEREFORE, 86
87
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 88
89
Section 1. The facts stated in the preamble to this act 90
are found and declared to be true. 91
Section 2. The Pasco County School Board is authorized and 92
directed to appropriate from funds of the school board not 93
otherwise encumbered and to draw a warrant in the sum of 94
$1,000,000.00 made payable to a trust for the sole and exclusive 95
benefit of Marcus Button as compensation for harms and losses he 96
sustained due to the negligence of an employee of the Pasco 97
County School Board. 98
Section 3. The Pasco County School Board is authorized and 99
directed to appropriate from funds of the school board 100
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
$200,000.00 made payable to Robin Button, as the surviving 101
parent and natural guardian of Marcus Button, as compensation 102
for harms and losses sustained by her and Mark Button, now 103
deceased, for injuries to Marcus Button due to the negligence of 104
an employee of the Pasco County School Board. 105
Section 4. The amount paid by the Pasc o County School 106
Board pursuant to s. 768.28, Florida Statutes 2009, and the 107
amounts awarded under this act are intended to provide the sole 108
compensation for all past, present, and future claims arising 109
out of the crash that occurred on September 22, 2006, and the 110
factual situation described in this act which resulted in 111
injuries sustained by Marcus Button and his parents, Mark 112
Button, now deceased, and Robin Button. The total amount paid 113
for attorney fees may not exceed 25 percent of the total amounts 114
awarded under this act. 115
Section 5. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law. 116