Hurst, TX -- (SBWIRE) -- 05/21/2012 -- A Tarrant County jury has returned a $3.3 million verdict for a Texas woman who was sexually assaulted by a maintenance worker at her apartment complex.
Defendants in the case were Magnolia Projects Ltd. and Integrity Management, the owner and manager of the Elizabeth Garden Apartments in Roanoke, Texas. The victim sued based on evidence that the companies knew of problems with the maintenance worker involved, but continued to employ him anyway.
“This has been a nearly four-year long nightmare for this woman. It will never be over, but this is a step in the right direction,” says attorney Chuck Noteboom, founder of Noteboom: The Law Firm. Mike Freden and Brian Butcher – attorneys at the Noteboom law firm – represented the victim at the trial.
According to court documents, the assault occurred on July 9, 2008, when the victim requested repairs at her apartment. Maintenance worker Philip Parrish responded to the request, and attempted to kiss the woman, who told him to leave. Parrish complied, and she immediately locked the door behind him. Later, Parrish re-entered her apartment and committed the sexual assault, court records say.
Approximately one year earlier, the apartment owner had threatened to fire Mr. Parrish based on multiple complaints that he was looking in residents’ windows.
“Our investigation determined that Mr. Parrish had access to a master key for all the apartments, including our client’s,” Noteboom says. “The sad truth is that this assault would never have happened if the managers and owners of Elizabeth Garden would have acted prudently in 2007 and fired Mr. Parrish.”
In their verdict, jurors awarded the victim $800,000 for the physical pain she experienced in the attack, $1 million for mental anguish, and $1.5 million for future mental anguish.
In his Denton County criminal case, Parrish was sentenced to 6½ years in prison after being convicted of burglary of a habitation and sexual assault.
Noteboom: The Law Firm is home to courtroom lawyers with an extensive track record in legal jurisdictions throughout Texas and across the U.S. The firm has represented clients in significant cases against insurance companies, leading corporations, construction companies, trucking operations, and many others. For more information visit http://www.noteboom.com.
For more information on the $3.3 million civil sexual assault verdict, please contact Dave Moore at dave@androvett.com or 800-559-4534.