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DTLA Target Shopping Center Owners Challenge Stab Victim Claims – MyNewsLA.com
The property owners of a downtown shopping center where a boy and a woman were stabbed by a man at a Target store are asking a judge to dismiss the company as a defendant in the plaintiffs’ lawsuit, alleging that nothing they could have done would have prevented the “unfortunate” occurrence.
The stabbings occurred Nov. 15, 2022, at the FIGat7th shopping center shortly after 6:20 p.m. The victims were later identified as Brayden Medina Molina, then 9 years old, and Joo Hye Song, then 24. Both sued Target Corp., landlord FIGat7th LLC and other entities, and their suits have been consolidated.
Target attorneys have denied any liability on the retail giant’s part and on Tuesday, FIGat7th attorneys filed court papers with Judge Anne Hwang, asking that the negligence/premises liability claims against them be tossed out. A hearing is scheduled Feb. 6.
“Plainly, there were no similar prior incidents and nothing BOP FIGAT7th could have done would have prevented this unfortunate incident,” the FIG lawyers maintain in their court papers.
The FIG lawyers note that the plaintiffs, in their attorneys court papers, contend with strong language that the area including the shopping center has become “overrun with homelessness and violence,” requiring local businesses and employers to keep their patrons and the public safe from predictable violent acts by “deranged and violent” persons.
“Despite plaintiffs’ fearmongering, these baseless claims have nothing to do with what actually transpired…,” the FIG attorneys further contend in their pleadings while also maintaining that they are responsible for security in the common areas — where no similar such attack had ever occurred — and that retailers such as Target are in control of protecting people inside their stores.
David Franklin, the man who stabbed the plaintiffs, was fatally shot by a security guard, Enedino Espinoza, who worked for Watermark Security Group Inc., the guest safety firm hired by Target. Allied Security Group contracted with FIG to patrol the common areas, where Franklin spent less than 10 seconds before entering Target, according to the FIG lawyers’ pleadings.
The shopping center has up to 22,000 daily visitors, the FIG lawyers further state in their court papers.
Espinoza has filed a separate lawsuit against Target and FIG, alleging he suffered emotional distress from seeing Franklin die and that the stabbings were a foreseeable crime.
In addition, FIG has filed a cross-complaint for indemnity against Target.