PROPERTY OWNERS HAVE A DUTY TO PROTECT RESIDENTS.
Real Case Study #1
For example, in 2014, 43-year-old Margarita Marcano was raped and murdered in her Bronx apartment by her building’s superintendent, Frank Morales. Morales used his passkey to enter her unit, and investigations revealed that he had a criminal history that management ignored. No serious vetting was done before giving him unrestricted access to tenants’ homes. Marcano’s family sued the property owner and management company for negligent hiring and retention, arguing that the crime would have been preventable if proper screening had been conducted. The case shows the devastating risks of overlooking due diligence and how landlords can find themselves facing liability for placing tenants in harm’s way. As a result, in 2021, Florida lawmakers passed “Miya’s Law,” which requires apartment operators to perform comprehensive background screenings of employees who will have access to units, maintain key logs, and adopt other tenant-safety measures.
Real Case Study #2
Nearly a decade later, a disturbingly similar situation occurred in Baltimore. In September 2023, Jason Billingsley, a convicted rapist released on parole, brutally assaulted and murdered 26-year-old Pava LaPere, a tech CEO and rising community leader. Billingsley had previously worked for a rental property company in the city despite his violent history. A lawsuit filed against Property Pals LLC and Eden’s Homes LLC alleged the companies failed to run adequate background checks, essentially giving Billingsley access to tenants and prospective renters. This tragic case underscores that negligent hiring does not just create financial exposure, it puts lives directly at risk.
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