ORLANDO, Fla. (Legal Newsline) - A wrongful death lawsuit alleges the owner and property manager of an Orlando apartment complex is liable for the shooting of Frantz Gustave.
His estate filed suit Sept. 8 against SPT Dolphin Pointe Vista I and Highmark Residential, the owner and manager, respectively, of the Pointe Vista Apartments. It was there that Gustave was attacked, shot and killed on April 2.
The suit cites three shooting incidents since 2017, including the murder of Terry Celestin in November 2020.
"(T)he criminal attack and murder of (Gustave) was reasonably foreseeable, and Defendant was in a superior position to appreciate such hazards and take necessary steps to prevent harm to invitees," the suit says.
Jaheim Lord faces a first-degree murder charge after witnesses allegedly saw him and Gustave fighting and Lord shooting him. The suit claims there was inadequate security at Pointe Vista.
Gregorio Francis and Ryan Fletcher of Osborne & Francis are pursuing the case for the plaintiff.