St. Petersburg Times (Florida)
July 8, 2005 South Pinellas Edition
TALLAHASSEE; JACKSONVILLE; WEST PALM BEACH
Father of boy killed by hyenas can't file suit
The father of a boy mauled to death by hyenas in Africa cannot sue the Fort Lauderdale company that arranged the trip, the Florida Supreme Court ruled Thursday, reversing a lower court.
The boy's mother, Molly Jacobs, of Brooklandville, Md., arranged the trip with her son, Mark Garrity Shea, in July 2000. While the 11-year-old was sleeping alone in a tent, hyenas dragged him away from the campsite and killed him.
Jacobs tried to sue Global Travel Marketing, which arranged the 25-day safari. But she failed, partly because she signed a waiver absolving Global Travel of liability for death or injury and calling for binding arbitration of any disputes.
A Florida circuit court ruled that Jacobs' signature also bound Jacobs' ex-husband and the boy's father, Mark R. Shea, to the results of the arbitration, but the 4th District Court of Appeal in West Palm Beach disagreed. The Florida Supreme Court's decision on Thursday quashed that ruling.
You just keep on posting, Nita. Thanks for the info. Hyenas are a particularly dastardly species, in my opinion. Tigers are beautiful creatures.