Pearrow v. Esa P Portfolio LLC

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CHARITY PEARROW, as Personal Representative of the Estate of Marina Ralph, a deceased minor, Plaintiff, v. ESA P PORTFOLIO L.L.C., et al., Defendants.

No. 21-cv-62276-BLOOM/Valle

United States District Court, S.D. Florida

February 6, 2023

ORDER ON MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

BETH BLOOM UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

THIS CAUSE is before the Court upon Defendants Esa P Portfolio L.L.C. and Esa P Portfolio Operating Lessee LLC's Motion for Summary Judgment, ECF No. [51] (“Motion”), filed on December 15, 2022. The Court has carefully reviewed the Motion, all opposing and supporting submissions,^[1] the record in this case, the applicable law, and is otherwise fully advised. For the reasons set forth below, Defendants' Motion is granted.

I. BACKGROUND

This case stems from the tragic death of Marina Ralph, a sixteen-year-old girl who was found deceased in a hotel room on October 4, 2019. See Complaint, ECF No. [1-2] at 1. Marina's mother, Plaintiff Charity Pearrow, brings this action under Florida's Wrongful Death Act against Defendants Esa P. Portfolio L.L.C. and Esa P Portfolio Operating Lessee LLC, the entities that operated and controlled the hotel. Id. at 3-4.

In their Motion, Defendants argue that Plaintiff's claims are barred by Fla. Stat. 768.075(4) and, regardless, Plaintiff has failed to set forth a claim of negligence against the hotel. ECF No. [51].

II. MATERIAL UNDISPUTED FACTS

Unless otherwise stated, the following facts are not in dispute.

On October 4, 2019, Marina Ralph (“Marina”) was found deceased in Room 334 of the Extended Stay America Hotel (the “Hotel”), located in Pompano Beach, Florida. SMF ¶ 1; CSMF I ¶ 1.^[2] Her death was caused by the “combined acute toxic effects of cocaine and fentanyl.” SMF ¶ 26; CSMF I ¶ 26. Marina was sixteen years old at the time of her death. ECF No. [1-2] at 1.

The chain of events leading to Marina's death involve Randall Taylor, a 36-year-old man with a lengthy criminal history. CSMF II ¶ 35; RSMF ¶ 36. Between 2017 and 2020, Taylor ran a criminal enterprise involving fraud, drug dealing, and pimping/prostitution. CSMF II ¶ 36; RSMF ¶ 36. The extent of Taylor's pimping/prostitution operation is disputed by the parties, but it is uncontested that a woman named Samantha Cook worked as a prostitute for him during the summer of 2019. Id. Cook testified that, during that time, Taylor was controlling all aspects of her life, and he sometimes prostituted her against her will. CSMF II ¶¶ 45-46; RSMF ¶¶ 45-46. He placed ads on the internet advertising sex with Cook. ECF No. [72-5] at 43. Cook testified that Taylor used Cook's drug addiction to coerce her into prostituting herself, and Taylor took the money she earned. ECF No. [72-5] at 52; SMF ¶ 8; CSMF I ¶ 8.

According to Cook, Taylor would target women he found on the street who were “down and out.” ECF No. [72-5] at 11. Taylor would then provide them with free hotel rooms and drugs in exchange for money made from prostituting and fraud. Id. at 52; ECF No. [72-4] at 6-9 (deposition of Allyson Tanaka); ECF No. [72-7] at 7 (deposition of Danielle Richardson).

At some point in August or September 2019, Cook and Taylor drove to a gas station that they knew to be a place where drug users gathered. SMF ¶ 13; CSMF I ¶ 13. It is disputed whether they went there “looking for girls to recruit,” CSMF II ¶ 50, or “to sell drugs.” RSMF ¶ 50. Upon seeing Marina, Taylor told Cook to “call that girl over.” CSMF II ¶ 53; RSMF ¶ 53. Cook brought Marina to the car, where Marina and Taylor had a discussion. CSMF II ¶¶ 54-55; RSMF ¶¶ 54-55. They exchanged telephone numbers. SMF ¶ 13; CSMF I ¶ 13. After driving away, Taylor told Cook that he was going to text Marina and he “wanted her to start hanging out with us.” CSMF II ¶ 56; RSMF ¶ 56.

Phone records indicate that, between August 16 and August 21, Taylor and Marina were in frequent contact. CSMF II ¶ 59; RSMF ¶ 59; but see RSMF ¶ 57 (disputing the authenticity of the phone records). On August 21, a commercial sex ad was posted on a website with Marina's cell phone number, a description of Marina, and a photograph that may or may not have been her. CSMF II ¶¶ 62-63; RSMF ¶¶ 62-63. Phone records indicate that, in the following weeks, Marina received hundreds of texts and calls from men with lengthy criminal histories. CSMF II ¶ 70; RSMF ¶ 70.

Marina's mother, Charity, testified that on August 23, 2021, Marina called her from an unknown number and said that her phone had been taken from her. CSMF II ¶ 65; RSMF ¶ 65. Marina recovered her phone on August 29, 2021. CSMF II ¶ 68; RSMF ¶ 68. Charity testified that Marina called her on September 12 and asked for help, stating that she was at a hotel in Pompano Beach and wanted a safe place to go. CSMF II ¶ 73; RSMF ¶ 73. Charity offered to pick up Marina immediately, but Marina begged her not to come, saying that it was not safe. CSMF II ¶¶ 73-74; RSMF ¶¶ 73-74.

Marina met her mother at her home and Charity brought Marina Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital, where she was voluntarily admitted on September 12. CSMF II ¶ 76; RSMF ¶ 76. She told treaters that she was using a variety of illegal drugs, including crack cocaine. ECF No. [7238] at 49; CSMF II ¶ 77; RSMF ¶ 77. She was discharged on September 18. CSMF II ¶ 78; RSMF ¶ 78.

Phone records reflect that Taylor contacted Marina several times on September 30. CSMF II ¶ 83; RSMF ¶ 83. That evening, Cook arrived at the Extended Stay Hotel in Pompano Beach. CSMF II ¶ 84; RSMF ¶ 84. The parties dispute whether Taylor drove Cook to the Hotel and whether Marina was present with Taylor or Cook that evening. Id.

Cook rented two rooms at the Hotel using a stolen driver's license and two fake credit cards, all of which she had obtained from Taylor. SMF ¶¶ 5-6; CSMF I ¶¶ 5-6. The Hotel declined Cook's first credit card but approved the second. CSMF II ¶ 93; RSMF ¶ 93. Cook testified that Taylor wanted Cook and Marina to stay at the Hotel to prevent them from getting “involved . . . with other guys,” including other drug dealers. ECF No. [72-5] at 48.

Though the parties dispute whether Marina had previously entered and departed from the Hotel, they agree that Marina entered the Hotel on October 1st. SMF ¶ 12; CSMF I ¶ 12; CSMF II ¶ 104. Cook testified that she gave Marina a key to her room, # 334. SMF ¶ 14; CSMF I ¶ 14.

Around 5:00 a.m. on October 2nd, Taylor arrived at the Hotel with a woman named Kelly McLennan. SMF ¶ 15; CSMF I ¶ 15. They entered together and, according to McLennan, without using a key. CSMF II ¶¶ 110, 113; RSMF ¶¶ 110, 113. McLennan testified that she and Taylor went to the Hotel to “keep tabs on” Cook and make sure “she didn't have anybody in the room.” SMF ¶ 17; CSMF I ¶ 17. McLennan spoke with Cook, whom she previously knew, and Marina, whom she was meeting for the first time. SMF ¶ 16; CSMF I ¶ 16.

Taylor departed alone shortly thereafter, at 5:02 a.m. CSMF II ¶ 114; RSMF ¶ 114. As Taylor was driving away, Cook ran after him. CSMF II ¶ 115; RSMF ¶ 115. According to McLennan, Cook ran after Taylor because he was leaving without giving Cook heroin and Marina crack cocaine. ECF No. [72-6] at 17. It is unclear whether Taylor gave drugs to Cook or Marina at that point. McLennan, Cook, and Marina returned to the hotel. CSMF II ¶ 117; RSMF ¶ 117. According to McLennan, Marina told her that she “was having withdrawals because she didn't have any crack.” SMF ¶ 16; CSMF I ¶ 16. McLennan further testified that Marina's behavior was consistent with someone experiencing withdrawal. ECF No. [72-6] at 33.

Marina left the hotel at least once and returned with Cook on October 2 at 7:45 p.m. SMF ¶ 14; CSMF I ¶ 14. Cook further testified that, on the following evening, October 3rd, she and Marina were alone in Room 334, “getting high.” SMF ¶ 19; CSMF I ¶ 19. Cook saw Marina smoking crack cocaine in the room. ECF No. [72-5] at 31-32. Cook received a phone call from a commercial sex client requesting her services. Id. Cook invited Marina to join her but Marina declined. Id. Cook left Marina in the room alone. SMF ¶ 20; CSMF I ¶ 20.

It is unclear when Cook returned to the room. SMF ¶ 21; CSMF I ¶ 21. At 10:04 a.m. on October 4th, Cook called 911 to report that Marina had overdosed on drugs. SMF ¶ 22; CSMF I ¶ 22. Police and fire rescue arrived within fifteen minutes and found Marina's body on the floor against the foot of the bed. SMF ¶ 23; CSMF I ¶ 23. Drug paraphernalia and a white powder were found in the room. SMF ¶ 24; CSMF I ¶ 24. The white powder was not tested to determine if it was a controlled substance. Id. According to an autopsy, Marina's cause of death was combined acute toxic effects of cocaine and fentanyl and the manner of death was accidental. SMF ¶ 26; RSMF ¶ 26; ECF No. [50-16] at 6 (Autopsy Report).

III. LEGAL STANDARD

A court may grant a motion for summary judgment “if the movant shows that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(a). The parties may support their positions by citations to materials in the record, including depositions, documents, affidavits, or declarations. See Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c). An issue is genuine if “a reasonable trier of fact could return judgment for the non-moving party.” Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Fla. v. United States, 516 F.3d 1235, 1243 (11th Cir. 2008) (citing Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 247-48 (1986)). A fact is material if it “might affect the outcome of the suit under the governing law.” Id.

A court views the facts in the light most favorable to the non-moving party, draws “all reasonable inferences in favor of the nonmovant and may not weigh evidence or make credibility determinations[.]'” Lewis v. City of Union City, Ga.,...