Inside the Dwayne Haskins wrongful death civil complaint

On Friday, the Associated Press published an item regarding a partial settlement in the lawsuit filed in connection with the April 2022 death of former Ohio State and NFL quarterback Dwayne Haskins. The Associated Press, for reasons neither clear nor apparent, has opted to grant full anonymity to all of the various defendants in the litigation.

Curiosity prompted PFT to obtain the full complaint, and to take a close look at the allegations — and the various persons against whom the allegations are made.

The AP's decision not to name the defendants is odd, to say the least. It's a policy and practice that surely has not been applied universally to those defending against claims in civil cases. Civil defendants are generally entitled to no sensitivity or secrecy. They have been duly sued in a court of competent jurisdiction. If the plaintiff and/or the lawyer representing the plaintiff have engaged in any sort of wrongdoing in suing one or more of the defendants who have been sued, the defendants have procedures available to them to address the situation.

Here is the full list of defendants, appearing in the complaint that was filed in the Circuit Court of the 17th Judicial Circuit in and for Broward County, Florida: Oriel Patino, Pedro Sinecio Diaz, Sorrel Enterprises, Inc d/b/a Sorrel Development, Florida Department of Transportation, John Doe Company (an unnamed contractor for the Florida Department of Transportation), Roam Rental Car of Miami, LLC d/b/a Ace Rent A Car, Boca Raton Hotel Management LP d/b/a Wyndham Garden Hotel Boca Raton, Drive Shack Palm Beach, LLC d/b/a Drive Shack Palm Beach, Luv Shak Hospitality Inc. d/b/a Blue Anchor Pub, GR OPCO, LLC d/b/a E11even Miami, Joey Smith, Meriem Yassine, Wissal Yassine, and Karlee Peyton.

The Haskins estate alleged that Patino drove the dump truck that struck Haskins in a negligent manner, by operating it carelessly, exceeding the posted speed limit, failing to keep a proper lookout, failing to maintain the brakes on the truck, failing to maintain the tires on his truck, failing to make necessary repairs to his truck to keep it roadworthy, failing to regularly inspect the truck, overloading the truck, and failing to avoid hitting Haskins when he was visible and avoidable.

The complaint joins Diaz and Sorrel Enterprises as the owners of the dump truck.

The Florida Department of Transportation faces claims relating to the condition of the roadway where the collision happened, with specific allegations that the DOT exercised negligence in allowing the roadway to obstruct the vision of drivers, and that the employees and agents of the DOT placed a traffic signal board along the roadway that further obstructed the vision of drivers, failed to provide necessary street lighting, failed to post a reduced speed limit, and failed to inspect, maintain, and remedy the issue of reduced visibility in the vicinity of the incident.

The "John Doe" defendant is the contractor of the DOT that allegedly failed to make the roadway sufficiently safe.

Ace Rent A Car has been sued for providing Haskins with a rental car that was "unreasonably dangerous and hazardous because it was mechanically damaged and ran out of gas," which caused Haskins to leave the truck and enter the dangerous highway traffic.

The Wyndham Garden Hotel Boca Raton has been sued for allegedly "allowing patrons to use drugs and to drug other patrons, including [Haskins], even when Defendant's own employees were in attendance and observing same."

The same claims are made Drive Shack Palm Beach, Blue Anchor Pub and E11ven Miami, regarding drug use and the drugging of other patrons.

Joey Smith, Meriem Yassine, Wissal Yassine, and Karlee Peyton are accused of "drugging [Haskins] to blackmail and rob him."

The fact that the lawsuit names specific names as to drugging, blackmail, and robbery suggests that sufficient evidence exists to proceed against them specifically. If there was any real doubt about the identity of the persons who allegedly drugged and blackmailed/robbed Haskins, they presumably would have been joined as John Doe defendants — as the DOT contractor was.

Attorney Rick Ellsley recently explained in a statement that the Haskins estate has "recently reached a combined settlement with the truck driver, the truck owner, and the truck broker," and that "[s]ettlements with various other parties have been previously secured."

This means that the claims against Patino, Diaz, and Sorrel Enterprises have been resolved. Ellsley's statement did not specifically identify the other defendants with whom a settlement has been reached.

"The case continues to proceed in Broward County Circuit Court against multiple other defendants," Ellsley said.

The most fascinating aspect of the case relates to the allegation that Haskins was drugged, with the goal of blackmailing and robbing him. If true, those allegations presumably would attract the attention of the relevant authorities.

Some have expressed surprise and confusion regarding the breadth of the claims. The reality in cases of this nature is that lawyers will make claims against anyone who might be responsible for the injury, forcing the defendants to sort out their responsibility among themselves. And as to those who are quick to suggest that Haskins bears responsibility for the situation, that defense will be available to all of the defendants.