Peter Nehr fights for $1.2 million due to handicapped girl
House Bill 195, sponsored by Rep. Peter Nehr, R-Palm Harbor, had its first reading March 23. Senate Bill 60, sponsored by Sen. Ronda Storms, R-Brandon, was referred last month to the special master on claims bills.
“We’re very grateful that the bill is moving through the House and we’re hopeful we’ll get a resolution this year, said attorney Richard Filson of Sarasota, who filed the suit against DCF. “They really need it now. … This will help alleviate the financial burden of caring for her.”
Achille is the legal guardian for her sister and sister’s child, who was born when Pierreisna Archille was 17, following two years of being raped.
The sisters’ last names are spelled differently on birth certificates — one is Achille and the other Archille.
The foster father, Bonifacio “Bennie” Velazquez, now 74, has been out of state prison since September 2008 after serving 6½ years of a nine-year sentence for repeatedly raping Archille, who has a 40 IQ and the mental abilities of a first-grader.
Archille already received $100,000, but needs a claims bill to receive the rest.
“I deferred all the fees and costs because they needed the money to live on,” Filson said of roughly $30,000.
“Darlene is very hesitant to take much money out of that trust because that’s all Pierreisna has for now for the rest of her life,” Filson said.
The settlement was the minimum amount Filson would agree on because similar cases that went to trial resulted in multimillion-dollar verdicts. A consulting firm estimated it would cost $4.5 million to care for the mother for the rest of her life, and the child.
“For the last two legislative sessions, the department has supported the passage of this claims bill,” said DCF Deputy General Counsel John Slye, adding that the $1.2 million has been sitting in DCF’s Federal Grants Trust Fund.
In Florida, claims bills are required due to a legal doctrine called sovereign immunity, which shields state and local governments from liability claims of more than $100,000 per person or $200,000 per incident in negligence lawsuits.
By law, those injured due to a government agency’s actions must get approval for a settlement or jury award that’s more than $100,000 by going through the claims bill process. If the Legislature approves a claims bill, Gov. Charlie Crist must sign it.
Nehr, who has a mentally handicapped 29-year-old son, said he has a “soft spot” in his heart for this claims bill.
“Nobody really advocates for them,” Nehr said of mentally handicapped people. “I just do it because it’s the right thing to do. I feel very, very confident and I know if I can get my bill heard, I can get it passed.”
“This poor little girl who was born, she needs a decent life,” Nehr added. “I feel very confident this year that we can give a little bit of justice to this poor family that already has suffered a lot. They can really use this money.”
Representatives must be selective about the bills they sponsor. Unlike senators, who can push numerous bills, representatives only get six — and hefty claims bills are controversial, especially during the state’s budget crisis.
Last year, Nehr was hopeful the bill would pass because DCF had $2.4 million sitting in the trust for Archille and a Boynton Beach couple who adopted three young brothers they later found were repeatedly raped, caged and starved in foster care. DCF hid that from the couple.
At the last minute during the 2009 legislative session, Nehr learned Archille’s bill wouldn’t be heard by the Senate and it died. The bill for the Boynton Beach couple, however, passed and they’ll receive $950,000 every year for 10 years for therapy for their sons, who had gone on to molest other children, kill family pets and tried to poison their new mother.
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