Seth Adams: unarmed, shot by a sergeant, a jury that could not agree
Seth Adams was unarmed when a Palm Beach County sheriff's sergeant shot him in 2012. His family's case went to a federal jury, which deadlocked. In May 2017, before a retrial, the Sheriff settled for $2.5 million.
A public record, not a client of this firm. Everything on this page comes from the court file, the government announcement or the reporting cited at the end. Usher Law Group did not represent anyone in this matter, we publish no results of our own, and nothing here predicts the outcome of any other case.
Seth Adams was unarmed. In 2012 a Palm Beach County sheriff's sergeant shot him, and he died. That is the public record on the shooting, and it is the record that carried the case.
His family sued in federal court. The case did what few police shooting cases do: it reached a jury. The jury could not agree. A deadlocked jury is not a verdict for either side; it means the case would be tried again. In May 2017, before that second trial, the Palm Beach County Sheriff settled for $2.5 million.
Five years passed between the shooting and the payment. That is the ordinary length of a serious force case in federal court: the investigation, the discovery, the fight over qualified immunity, and then twelve people in a room deciding whether what the officer did was reasonable.
What the law calls it
Deadly force is unreasonable unless the officer has probable cause to believe the person poses a significant threat of death or serious physical injury to the officer or others (Tennessee v. Garner, 471 U.S. 1 (1985)). The whole encounter is judged by objective reasonableness (Graham v. Connor, 490 U.S. 386 (1989)). Whether the person was armed is at the center of both questions.
In Florida a state-law claim against a sheriff is governed by Fla. Stat. 768.28: a written claim within three years, two for wrongful death, and damages capped at $200,000 per person and $300,000 per incident, the excess payable only by a legislative claim bill. An officer has no personal tort liability unless he acted in bad faith, with malicious purpose, or with wanton and willful disregard (768.28(9)(a)). The federal claim under Section 1983 has none of those limits and a four-year limitation period in Florida.
What it cost
Family of Seth Adams
An unarmed man shot by a sheriff's sergeant in 2012.
Source: CBS Miami. A public record of someone else's case, not a result of this firm and not a prediction.
What it means for you
If a family member was shot by police in Florida, the state wrongful death claim needs a written claim to the agency within two years and is capped; the federal claim has four years, no notice and no cap. Our police shootings page explains the Garner standard and what has to be shown, and Florida lists each clock.
The evidence in a shooting case is gathered in the first days: the body camera and dashboard video, the dispatch audio, the witnesses, the scene. Our evidence and body cameras page explains what to request and how fast, and what Florida pays explains why the federal claim carries the value.
The pages this story points to
Police shootings
Deadly force under Garner and the facts that decide reasonableness.
Read →Florida
Three years for state notice, two for wrongful death, four for the federal claim.
Read →What Florida pays
The caps, the claim bill, and the uncapped federal claim.
Read →Sources. CBS Miami, "Family of man shot by deputy reaches settlement" (May 2017); Tennessee v. Garner, 471 U.S. 1 (1985); Graham v. Connor, 490 U.S. 386 (1989); Fla. Stat. 768.28 (flsenate.gov).
Common questions
What happens when a jury deadlocks in a civil case?
The judge declares a mistrial and the case can be tried again. Both sides have now seen the evidence tested once, which is often when a settlement is reached, as it was here.
Does the Florida cap apply to a sheriff?
A sheriff is a state agency for purposes of Fla. Stat. 768.28, so a state-law claim against the Sheriff is capped at $200,000 per person and $300,000 per incident, with the excess payable only by a legislative claim bill. The federal claim under Section 1983 is not capped by the statute.
Tell us what happened.
One conversation with an attorney, in your language. We tell you which claims the facts support, which deadline runs first for the agency involved, what evidence to preserve this week, and whether a pending criminal case changes the timing. If it is not a case we can take, we say so and tell you where to go.
(718) 484-7510If a criminal charge is still open, talk to your defense lawyer before you describe the arrest to anyone, including us. English, Russian and Spanish in-house; an interpreter for any other language. Contingency fee, confirmed in writing before we begin.