It’s been almost two years since a jury of her peers awarded a South Florida a $155 million verdict that was quickly overturned by the judge overseeing the case.
But, the case between the Aventura City of Excellence charter school, the Aventura city manager, and former principal Katherine Murphy is far from over.
Murphy alleged that stress and harassment while heading up the Aventura City of Excellence Charter School caused her intestine to rupture and left her in a coma for six weeks. She alleged Aventura City Manager Eric Soroka compared her to prostitutes and accused her of stealing money from a parent.
“What goes through my mind is all of the things the city manager has done to me to harm me physically, emotionally, mentally bankrupt me essentially, or possibly and I look at the office where he sits every day,” Murphy said.
While the jury agreed with Murphy and gave her a $155 million verdict, she’s not collected a penny after Judge Rosa Rodriguez tossed out the entire amount.
“The judge took back what the jury had decided upon and said that the city manager could not be sued as a public official,” Murphy said.
Judge Rodriguez originally wrote in her decision, “I have not read one single case that in a context such as this, the type of statements made with no physical conduct do not rise to the level of extreme and outrageous conduct under the case law.”
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A higher court this summer agreed with the judge saying, “…there was no evidence upon which a jury could render a verdict in favor of (Murphy) on her claims.”
Florida International University law professor Phyllis Kotey said that while Murphy may call it unfair after the jury took her side; the judge has the final say. Kotey likened it to the type of instant replay decision seen during a Miami Dolphins game.
“Everything appeared to be okay, but when the people in the upper booth looked at it, even when there hadn’t been a challenge, this really hadn’t been a valid call and we are going to overturn it,” Kotey said.
Kotey continued, “Ultimately, a judge is always left with the responsibility for ensuring justice has been followed.”
Murphy’s lawyer, Richard Burton, said the case isn’t over and is requesting a hearing en banc before the Third District Court of Appeals. One of the key issues will be the claim of immunity for Soroka.
“No man is above the law, the Richard Nixon theory if you will,” said Burton. “We are bringing it to the Court of Appeals attention that they didn’t deal with the state, which says he is not above the law.”
The school and city manager said it’s the judges and not the jury that ultimately got the case right.
If Murphy loses with the Court of Appeals, she can still appeal the decision to the Florida Supreme Court in Tallahassee.
