Agenda 12/14/2021 Item #16K 5 (Settlement Agreement for lawsuit between BCC & Steven Ritter)12/14/2021
16. K.5
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Recommendation to approve and authorize the Chair to execute a Settlement Agreement in the
lawsuit styled Steven Ritter v. Collier County Board of Commissioners, (Case No. 20-CA-0249), now
pending in the Circuit Court of the Twentieth Judicial Circuit in and for Collier County, Florida,
for the sum of $150,000.
OBJECTIVE: Recommendation to approve the settlement in the lawsuit filed by Steven Ritter for the
sum of $150,000 and authorize the Chair to execute the Settlement Agreement.
CONSIDERATIONS: This lawsuit arises out of an accident that occurred on April 6, 2019, at the
Goodland public boat ramp located on Marco Island, Florida. The Plaintiff's wedding ring snagged on a
nail head that was protruding from a piling cap when he was trying to step down onto a flats boat from a
non -floating dock area. The Plaintiff injured his left ring finger on the nail and fell into the water. The
Plaintiff suffered a degloving injury which ultimately led to the amputation of the left ring finger.
The Plaintiff alleges total medical costs of $63,071.43. The Plaintiffs pre -suit settlement demand was
$200,000. The parties commenced discovery and depositions were taken. After extensive settlement
negotiations a tentative settlement, contingent upon Board approval, was reached to resolve the lawsuit
for $150,000.
The County Attorney and the Risk Management Director recommend that the Board approve this
settlement as reasonable. Should the case proceed with additional depositions, mediation and trial, the
costs incurred alone are expected to exceed the tentative settlement amount.
FISCAL IMPACT: Funds are budgeted and available in Fund 516, Property & Casualty Insurance Fund
and the total impact will be $150,000.
GROWTH MANAGEMENT IMPACT: None.
LEGAL CONSIDERATIONS: This item is approved as to form and legality and requires a majority
vote for approval. - CAK
RECOMMENDATION: For the Board of County Commissioners to approve and authorize the
Chairman to execute the Settlement Agreement for the total sum of $150,000 in the lawsuit styled Steven
Ritter v. Collier County Board of Commissioners, (Case No. 20-CA-249), now pending in the Circuit
Court of the Twentieth Judicial Circuit in and for Collier County, Florida.
PREPARED BY: Colleen A. Kerins, Assistant County Attorney
ATTACHMENT(S)
1. Executed settlement agreement -Ritter —Redacted (PDF)
Packet Pg. 2518
16. K.5
12/14/2021
COLLIER COUNTY
Board of County Commissioners
Item Number: 16.K.5
Doe ID: 20677
Item Summary: Recommendation to approve and authorize the Chair to execute a Settlement
Agreement in the lawsuit styled Steven Ritter v. Collier County Board of Commissioners, (Case No. 20-
CA-0249), now pending in the Circuit Court of the Twentieth Judicial Circuit in and for Collier County,
Florida, for the sum of $150,000.
Meeting Date: 12/14/2021
Prepared by:
Title: Legal Assistant — County Attorney's Office
Name: Rosa Villarreal
11/19/2021 10:20 AM
Submitted by:
Title: County Attorney — County Attorney's Office
Name: Jeffrey A. Klatzkow
11/19/2021 10:20 AM
Approved By:
Review:
Risk Management
County Attorney's Office
Office of Management and Budget
County Attorney's Office
Office of Management and Budget
County Manager's Office
Board of County Commissioners
Jeff Walker
Additional Reviewer
Colleen Kerins
Level 2 Attorney Review
Debra Windsor
Level 3 OMB Gatekeeper Review
Jeffrey A. Klatzkow Level 3 County Attorney's Office Review
Laura Wells
Additional Reviewer
Amy Patterson
Level 4 County Manager Review
Geoffrey Willig
Meeting Pending
Completed
11/19/2021 12:29 PM
Completed
11/19/2021 1:52 PM
Completed
11/19/2021 3:25 PM
Completed
11/22/2021 9:58 AM
Completed
11/22/2021 1:14 PM
Completed
12/02/2021 1:04 PM
12/14/2021 9:00 AM
Packet Pg. 2519
16.K.5.a
SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT
THIS SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT (hereinafter referred to as the "Agreement") is
entered into and made on this day of 2021, by and between STEVEN
RITTER, hereinafter referred to as "Plaintiff," and COLLIER COUNTY BOARD OF COUNTY
COMMISSIONERS, hereinafter referred to as "County."
WI;TNESSETH:
WHEREAS, Plaintiff filed a lawsuit against the County in the Circuit Court for the
Twentieth Judicial Circuit in and for Collier County, Florida, in the case styled Steven Ritter v,
Collier County Board of Commissioners, Case No. 20-CA-0249 (hereinafter referred to as the
"Lawsuit"); and
WHEREAS, Plaintiff and the County, without either party admitting any liability or
fault, desires to settle the Lawsuit and any and all disputes that arise from, relate or refer in any
way, whether directly or indirectly, known or unknown, accrued or unaccrued, to the incidents
described or allegations made in the complaint filed in the Lawsuit; and,
WHEREAS, Plaintiff and the County desire to reduce the settlement to a writing so that
it shall be binding upon both parties' respective owners, principals, elected officials, officers,
employees, ex -employees, agents, attorneys, representatives, insurers, successors, assigns, heirs,
departments, agencies and affiliates.
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the mutual covenants, promises and
consideration set forth in this Agreement, and with the intent to be legally bound, Plaintiff and
County agree as follows:
1. Plaintiff and the County adopt and incorporate the foregoing recitals, sometimes
referred to as "Whereas Clauses," by reference into this Agreement,
2. In consideration of the resolution of all disputes or claims arising from or
referring or relating in any way, whether directly or indirectly, to the Lawsuit, and for and in
consideration of the sum of one hundred fifty thousand dollars and 0/100 ($150,000.00) and
other valuable consideration, the receipt and adequacy of which is hereby acknowledged by
Plaintiff, Plaintiff agrees to dismiss the Lawsuit with Prejudice.
3. In consideration of the resolution of the Lawsuit, and for other good and valuable
consideration, the receipt and adequacy of which is hereby acknowledged, Plaintiff, on behalf of
herself, his attorneys, agents, representatives, insurers, heirs, successors and assigns, hereby
124-CA-249/1679419/11 1
Packet Pg. 25 071
16.K.5.a
expressly releases and forever discharges the County, as well as its owners, principals, elected
officials, officers, employees, ex-employces, agents, attorneys, contractors, representatives,
successors, assigns, insurers, heirs, departments, agencies and affiliates, from any and all claims,
demands, causes of actions, damages, costs, liens, attorney's fees, expenses, medical bills and
I obligations of any hind or nature whatsoever, that lie has asserted or could have asserted in the
Lawsuit or that arise from or relate or refer in any way, whether directly at, indirectly, accrued or
unaccrued, known or unknown, to the Lawsuit or any incident, event or allegation referred to in
the complaint in the Lawsuit,
4. Notwithstanding anything that may be to the contrary in Paragraph 3 of this
Agreement, Plaintiff and the County agree that either of them (as well as any other persons or
entities intended to be bound) shall, in the event of any breach, retain the right to enforce the
terms and conditions of this Agreement.
5. Plaintiff and the County acknowledge and agree that this Agreement is intended
to and shall be binding upon their respective owners, principals, elected officials, officers,
employees, ex -employees, agents, attorneys, representatives, insurers, successors, assigns, heirs,
and affiliates.
G. Plaintiff and the County recognize and acknowledge that this Agreement
memorializes and states a settlement of disputed claims and nothing in this Agreement shall be
construed to be an admission of any kind, whether of fault, liability, or of a particular policy or
procedure, oil the part of either Plaintiff or the County.
7. Plaintiff and the County acknowledge and agree that this Agreement is the
product of mutual negotiation and no doubtful or ambiguous language or provision in this
Agreement is to be construed against any party based upon a claim that the party drafted the
ambiguous provision or language ot• that the party was intended to be benefited by the
ambiguous provision or language.
8. This Agreement may be amended only by a written instrument specifically
referring to this Agreement and executed with the same formalities as this Agreement,
9, in the event of an alleged breach of this Agreement, Plaintiff and [lie County
agree that all underlying causes of action or claims of Plaintiff have been extinguished by this
Agreement and that the sole remedy for breach of this Agreement shall be for specific
performance of the terms and conditions of this Agreement. In this regard, Plaintiff and the
[20-CA-249/ 1 G79419/1 j 2
Packet Pg. 2521
16.K.5.a
County further agree that the sole venue for any such action small be in the Twentieth Judicial
Circuit in and for Collier County, Florida in Naples, Florida.
10. Plaintiff agrees to use the proceeds of the settlement funds for the payment and
satisfaction of all liens, medical bills, attorney fees, and all other expenses, costs, debts, or losses
whatsoever, arising out of or in any way connected to the incident described in the Lawsuit,
which Plaintiff brought or could have brought in the subject Lawsuit; however, the County
agrees to waive the lien amount, as of the date of this settlement, associated with any payments
trade the Collier County Employee Benefit Plan regarding the Plaintiffs medical treatment
regarding the injuries alleged in this lawsuit The Plaintiff agrees to be solely responsible for
complete payment all other obligations out of the settlement proceeds, including any future
medical bills.
1 L The Plaintiff hereby agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the County from any
and all claims and/or liens and/or subrogated interests, including but not limited to worker's
compensation liens, health insurance liens, Medicaid / Medicare liens, Social Security and any
and all attorney's liens and charging liens herein, other than the lien waiver delineated in
paragraph 10.
As a condition of and to induce settlement, the Defendant(s) and (their/its) insurer(s) have
requested and Plaintiff and their counsel have agreed to determine if Medicare (hereinafter CMS
and includes Part C Medicare Advantage Organizations (a/k/a MAO) and/or Medicaid [all
collectively referred to as CMS] has any past or future lien interest, and if so, to take all
necessary steps to satisfy such liens, past and future. The settlement is based upon a good faith
determination of the patties in order to resolve a questionable claim. The parties have attempted
to resolve this ratter in compliance with both state and federal law and it is believed that the
settlement terms adequately consider Medicare's interests and do not reflect any attempt to shift
the responsibility of treatment to Medicare. The purpose of this settlement is to resolve a
disputed claim.
If Medicare has a lien or has made payments of Medicare benefits, Plaintiff will do the
following:
1. Reporting: Plaintiff agrees the settlement will be reported to the Center for Medicare
Services (CMS) and determine whether the Plaintiff is a Medicare beneficiary or
Medicare eligible as defined by 42 U.S.C. Section I395(y) and 42 C.F,R, Section 411,25
(hereinafter the Medicare Secondary Payer Statute), Plaintiff will notify Defendants in
[20-CA-249/ 1 G79419/ 11 3
Packet Pg. 2522
1 ti.K.5.a
F
N
Q
U
writing if CMS has alien, reporting or set aside requirement and provide the releasor's N
full address, Social Security Number, date of birth, gender and if available, their Z
//Medicare Health insurance Claim Number (H1CN). Provision of this information is a 3
condition of settlement and spaces are provided at the end of the release for compliance. v
Plaintiffs agree that defendant or its insurer may also report the settlement to Medicare d
and consent to sgai. reporting and agree to cooperate fully with the defendant and its c
insurer with respect to such reporting. The parties agree that any present or future action v
or decision by Medicare on this settlement or Plaintiff's eligibility or entitlement to
Medicare benefits in the future, will not render this release void or ineffective, or in any
way affect the finality of this settlement. Plaintiff agrees the following information t-nay
be reported to Medicare: __
FUI. L NAME ON SOCIAL SECURITY CARD: Steven Ritter
SOCIAL SECURITY NUMB I R:
DATE OF BIRTH! m09129/ 9S0
GENDER: Male
MEDICARE HEALTH INSURANCE CLAIM NUMBER (HICK):
1 Conditional Payment Liens: Plaintiff further covenants acid agrees that if CMS or a
Medicare Advantage Organization (hereinafter MAO) has made conditional payments
andlor has a lien and/or is expected to make future payments prior to closing, Plaintiff
agrees not to disburse the settlement funds until (helshe/they) (has/have) (i) reported the
settlement to CMS; (ii) obtained a Conditlonal Paymerrf Notice and Derr�r�rtd Leifer; (iii)
fully paid and satisfied the Medicare lien; and (iv) obtained proof of iii by faxing
Defendants) the Final Payment, Re11)16u1serr7ent and ,recovery Demand .feller, Plaintiff
agrees that the released parties may elect to pay CMS or MAO lien directly from the
settlement funds, Plaintiff acknowledges CMS may charge interest on any additional
payments not made within 60 days and Plaintiffs agree to be responsible for such interest
should it accrue.
3. Medicare Set Asides: It is further expressly undcmtood and agreed, to the extent
applicable, Plaintiff agrees to set aside funds necessary to pay for any anticipated future
medical and/or health care needs of Plaintiff, for any illiury and/or condition that requires
treatment that arises final the injuries related and/or caused by the accident in question.
Plaintiff has conferred with their medical experts to determine the amount necessary to
set dside and self administer for anticipated future medical expenses or healthcare needs,
Plaintiff agrees to set aside $ of the settlement for these purposes and
notify Medicare that these funds have been set aside. If an LMSA or Medical Cost
Projection was done, the amount stated therein shall be set aside, Any LMSA or Medical
Cost Projection is hereby incorporated by 1-01crcnce into this agreement. Alternatively, if
nothing has been set aside for future costs it is because Plaintiff has covenanted that he
does not reasonably anticipate that he will require medical and/or health care treatment
for the injuries and/or conditions related and/or arising From the accident in question and
to the extent he does, lie will use the net settlement proceeds for related costs if they are
incurred,
(20-CA,249/ 1479419111 4
Packet Pg. 2523
16.K.5.a
N
Q
U
Cooperlttitln rind Indemnity: Plaintiff tend Ills cotmel agrec 10 fully cooperate witli (lie N
Defondant(s) and CMS at Plaintiff.,; own expense with respeet to €hest, previsions, �
indllditlg 1lr0duc6011 01' (10CLI flews or information or preparation of a Mcdicw-c set aside:, o
Plaintil'I' RgI' cS to exccutC ally authorizations required by Defendant, his insurer(s) or U
CMS for purposes of Cotnplyirlg with these Irlr,igraphs, Plailltiff and her coutlscl aD
understand that those conditions are a basis of the settlement and PlaintifrS counsel o
threes to (lie above terms, Plaint iff'acknowlcdgc5 that additional roimbursenlcllt may be U
clue to MediCUI-C alld as such remain obligated to Medim,e R)r any such additional
payments. Plaintiff ngrees to hold harmless and indemnify tho DClendan((s) and
(hISII1Cl'IthCli')llltilll'er5, including (hell' Own negligence, ft•0111 and against ally and all lions,
i1ftl'01, d0111ageti, tnCltlding Costs and attortley's lees, rot' Plaintiff's ftllltlre to Comply
with the terms of, (his release, l'or I laitltiff S fniltn'e to reimbu1-40 Niodicaro or any
Medicare Advtultagc Organization (MAD) and for any action taken by Medicare to E
determille dw validity of Illis releilSe, the validity ol'any minlburscment, the validity of >v
any lien or validity of'any Set aside (ticll allocated or otherwise). �
12, This Agreement shall be governed by [lie laws of the Stute of l:loridtl.
IN NVITNESS 1VIIi:REOF, Plaintifl' and tic County have signed and scaled 11lis
Agreement and Release its sct Forth below,
13y;
STATE',, OF FLORIDA
COUNTY OF COf,LILR
t5-� lk a� o
Steven Rittcr, Plaintiff
'File foregoing instrument ~,•vas ncknowledged before ale by moans of _ physical
presence or ',,� online notarization, this 1-i duy of nl,;t�'_i >1 :,�� 2021, by Steven Ritter.
(Si Mature of NOtar'y Public-5tato of Florida
Kandice M. Wood
(Print, Type, or Stamp Conlnlissioncrs
Nome of Notary Public)
_ Personally Known OR X Produced Identification
Type of ldentilictlli011 PrOCIL1Ced: F'1G" i(.�C.A- i�� t ir', :�+�`Y"�, tUWDICt;M,PURPUNAWOOo
t {+t *1 MY COMMISSION 4HH1D1667
���,�„•t3onaea rnru Nvlsry P�w1c u�densriten
[20-CA-24911 b79419/11
Packet Pg. 2524
16.K.5.a
AS TO COUNTY:
ATTEST:
CRYSTAL K, KINZEL, Clerk
Date;
Approved as to fo m and legality
o leen , Kerins
Assistant County Attorney
[20-CA-249/1 r794 49/4]
BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
OF COLLIER COUNTY, FLORIDA
13
Penny Taylor, Chairperson
Date;
Packet Pg. 2525