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Lawsuit Involving '03 Murder Can Go On

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By TODD LESKANIC, The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 20, 2007

An appellate court has revived a lawsuit stemming from the 2003 murder of Todd Byers.

Byers, 40, was struck by a car and killed during a fight outside a Land O' Lakes Radiant convenience store. The driver, Timothy Hahn, now 27, was convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison in 2005.

The Byers family sued Radiant in 2004, contending store employees should have done more to protect customers and to stop the brawl before Byers was killed.

Last year, Circuit Judge Wayne Cobb dismissed the lawsuit, saying the Byerses became trespassers on the property when they instigated the fight and therefore couldn't sue for damages.

On Friday, the 2nd District Court of Appeal reversed Cobb's ruling and restored the case at the circuit level. The Byerses are seeking more than $1 million in damages. Their attorney, Jack Gordon, said the case could go to trial in the next few months.

'The reality is my clients were not the aggressors,' Gordon said. 'You have the right to defend yourself; there's a no-stand-down rule in Florida.'

Attorneys for Radiant couldn't be reached Friday.

In reversing Cobb, the appellate court found that nothing in Florida law supports the notion that patrons become trespassers when they engage in violence with other customers.

People injured or killed while committing or attempting to commit felonies cannot sue the property owner for damages, according to state law. The Byerses, however, weren't charged with felonies, nor did Cobb rule that they were committing or attempting to commit felonies during the brawl.

The fight broke out Sept. 14, 2003, as Todd Byers, his fiancee, Julie Barrilleaux, his brother Steven Byers and sister-in-law Patty Byers were returning from a day at the beach. The family was celebrating Todd Byers' engagement to Barrilleaux.

On the way home, they stopped at the Radiant at State Road 54 and Collier Parkway to pick up some groceries. As Todd Byers was guiding his Cadillac out of the parking lot, Hahn drove his Pontiac into the lot and nearly hit Byers.

Words were exchanged and seconds later, passengers from Hahn's car were standing outside the Cadillac armed with baseball bats. During the ensuing brawl, Todd, Patty and Steven Byers got out of their car. Later, Hahn drove the Pontiac over Todd and Patty Byers.

Todd Byers was pinned to the wall of the convenience store and died at the scene. Patty Byers, 45, suffered a shattered pelvis, broken ribs and a collapsed lung. She has endured nine surgeries and has recovered despite doctors' initial fears that she might not walk again. Her medical bills total more than $700,000, Gordon said.

Patty Byers was ecstatic when told of the ruling Friday.

'What bothered me was that Cobb's ruling made it seem like we were there to fight someone,' she said. 'I always felt we were the victims of circumstance. Yes, we made some wrong choices; yes, we should have been smarter. Hindsight is a wonderful thing.

'But on the same standpoint, you kind of react to those things. Todd was like that; I'm like that.'

Reporter Todd Leskanic can be reached at (352) 521-3156 or tleskanic@tampatrib.com.

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