A local resident has filed a lawsuit against a property owners association, alleging negligence after suffering severe injuries on their premises. Mary Rijo lodged the complaint in the Circuit Court of the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit in Palm Beach County, Florida, on August 27, 2024, targeting Coppola Villas Property Owners Association, Inc.
According to the complaint, Rijo was walking along an exterior route at The Coppola Villas at Riverside Cove on March 23, 2023, when she tripped over a chipped and broken speed bump. The fall resulted in serious and permanent injuries. The plaintiff asserts that Coppola Villas POA had a duty to maintain its premises in a reasonably safe condition and to ensure pedestrian routes were constructed and maintained according to applicable codes and standards. "Defendant breached their duties by failing to construct and/or maintain pedestrian routes properly," reads the complaint.
Rijo's legal team argues that Coppola Villas POA created or allowed a dangerous condition to exist by not addressing the broken speed bump. They further claim that the association failed to warn individuals about this hazardous condition despite having knowledge greater than that of Rijo. The lawsuit accuses Coppola Villas POA of negligence for not correcting the dangerous condition and for not providing adequate warnings.
As a result of her fall, Rijo has endured bodily injury accompanied by pain and suffering, disability, disfigurement, mental anguish, inconvenience, loss of capacity for enjoyment of life, medical expenses, loss of earnings, and aggravation of pre-existing conditions. These losses are described as either permanent or continuing with potential future implications.
The plaintiff is seeking judgment for damages exceeding $50,000 plus costs, post-judgment interest, attorneys' fees against Coppola Villas Property Owners Association Inc., and demands a trial by jury on all issues triable as a matter of right.
Representing Mary Rijo are attorneys Mariano Garcia and Juan C. Diaz Avila from Searcy Denney Scarola Barnhart & Shipley P.A., based in West Palm Beach. The case is filed under Case Number: 502024CA008155XXXAMB Div: Al.