ATLANTA (Legal Newsline) – Atlanta’s public transportation system will have to go on the road to defend itself from the lawsuit of a woman who was attacked and raped while headed home from work.
Though the state legislature has stipulated the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority will face lawsuits in Fulton County, the case of plaintiff Kendra Mallard will be heard in DeKalb County, the state Court of Appeals ruled Nov. 1.
Mallard was abducted from the Kensington Road MARTA station, which is located in DeKalb County, in September 2015 and raped by DeAngelo Bryant. She sued MARTA, Bryant (a Fulton County resident) and Khary Scipio, a DeKalb resident who took her belongings after they were scattered during the attack.
Her theory for filing suit in DeKalb County was that MARTA was jointly and severally liable for Scipio’s actions.
MARTA had even admitted in its initial answer that venue was proper but later moved to have claims against it severed and sent to Fulton County. The trial court judge agreed, but the Court of Appeals’ decision overrules that.
“Mallard alleges that MARTA’s tortious failure to keep its premises safe resulted in the injuries against her person and property perpetrated by Bryant and Scipio,” Judge Sara Doyle wrote.
“MARTA’s negligence allegedly overlaps with the codefendants’ criminal acts. Thus, MARTA is not alleged to be a successive tortfeasor in any instance, and its alleged negligence resulted in multiple injuries to Mallard, including Bryant’s alleged act of separating Mallard from her possessions and his continued imprisonment of her during the assault providing the opportunity for Scipio to take her items.”
Mallard was entitled to file a single action against the three defendants because her claims against all arise from the same series of occurrences, the ruling says.
Mallard said she arrived at the Kensington station around midnight when Bryant grabbed her from behind. When she begged that he take anything he wanted from her purse and leave her alone, he dragged into some bushes and raped her.
Bryant was arrested with one of Mallard’s cell phones. Scipio used her Breezecard to board a train and later admitted he had stolen some of Mallard’s items he found.
Bryant was jailed in 2017 for his crimes.