IN THE NEWS
Chicago Tribune - January 2, 1994
More rape victims taking property owners to court
By Jeffrey Bils - Tribune Staff Writer
LauraLee Foley is convinced that someone could have done something to prevent her rape.
Better security, surveillance cameras, even an adequate peephole or a chain lock on Foley's door might have prevented that man from bursting into her apartment in April 1989 when she responded to his knocking, Foley said. The man raped her while her two young sons slept in the next room.
"This incident should not have happened," said Foley, 36. Only after Foley's attorney obtained police reports did Foley learn that the Carol Stream apartment complex had a history of violence, including assualts, robberies, muggins and burglaries. "I hold the apartment operators responsible. They let it get so run-down. They didn't seem to care, as long as they got the money."
After the attack, Foley learned that the man - who was convicted of raping her - had continued to return to the apartment complex and raped another woman, stabbing her in front of her 5 year-old daughter.
"There were dozens and dozens of incidents," said Foley's attorney, Kathleen Zellner. "It was so bad that the apartment manager was provided with a bulletproof vest and a gun."
Outraged, Foley decided to sue. Given the brutal history there, she argued, the operators should have done something to make the complex safer. Foley's attorney said the civil suit would be filed later this month in Cook County Circuit Court. Foley has since moved from the apartment building.
Matthew Chacoonas, the Chicago attorney for the apartment complex, said, "For obvious reasons, there's no way we can talk about these cases or permit our clients to talk about them."
Foley's plan to file suit is one example of litigation. Rape victims are suing apartment operators, employers and businesses where the attacks occurred. And Insurance companies are beginning to feel the heat as juries in many cases award victims millions of dollars.
"It's clear around the country that premises liability cases are increasing, said Daniel B. Kennedy, a professor and criminologist in the department of criminal justice and security administration at the University of Detroit Mercy. "The average settlement amount is probably around a half-million dollars."
Beverly Roachell, 1994 national president of the institute of Real Estate Management, said: "Building owners and managers are becoming liable, particularly in personal injuries such as assault or rape. Definitely, it's a shift in the judicial trend."
Just a few years ago, such lawsuits were comparatively uncommon. But America's growing awareness about the seriousness of rape has prompted more and more women to report their victimization and go to court, legal experts said.
At the same time, some observers said they believe that as more women have gained positions of power in law and government. Issues such as rape have achieved a higher profile.
The exact number of cases is impossible to trach, because court records generally do not distinguish them from other tort cases. But there is much anecdotal evidence that the number is rising quickly.
"It's becoming a major part of my practice," said Zellner, a Naperville lawyer who specializes in women's issues. "They're bringing suits against landlords and security companies and schools. There have been a couple against mental institutions. It's occuring nationwide."
A seminar on the topic held in Atlanta in November drew 200 lawyers from throughout the nation, said Corey L. Gordon, founder and co-chairman of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America Inadequate Security Litigation Group. That enthusiasm contrasts sharply with the legal climate about five years ago, Gordon said, when the association had to cancel plans for a similar seminar because of lack of interest.
Attorneys and legal scholars aren't the only ones responding to the increase in cases like Foley's.
