Sexual assault by apartment maintenance tech leads to $14M settlement

A Missouri woman has reached a $14 million confidential settlement with the owner of an apartment building and its property manager following a sexual assault by a maintenance technician who used a master key to break into her residence.

The settlement was reached in late July, per heavily redacted records shared by plaintiff’s attorney Paula Brown of Scharnhorst Ast Kennard Griffin in Kansas City. The agreement prohibits disclosure of the parties, venue and location of the apartment complex.

The apartment complex employee had removed a copy of the victim’s key from the building’s electronic key management system, Brown said.

Further, the assailant was hired despite a job application that contained “false, questionable and fabricated information,’ the suit alleged, noting that a background check would have disclosed a previous restraining order for stalking, threatening and abusing a woman. He also failed a pre-employment drug test but was not penalized.

Attorneys for the defendant did not respond to a request for comment.

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$14 million confidential settlement

Personal injury

Venue: Confidential

Case Number/Date: Confidential/July 23, 2024

Caption: Confidential vs. Confidential

Plaintiff’s Attorneys: Paula Brown (lead), Jim Griffin and Scott Ast; Scharnhorst Ast Kennard Griffin, Kansas City

Defendant’s Attorneys: Daniel Church (lead), Blake Butner, Morrow Willnauer Church, Kansas City; Matthew Clifford, Franke Schultz & Mullen, Kansas City

Plaintiff’s Experts:  Chris E. McGoey; Jonesborough, Tennessee (apartment security); Lauren Richerson, Kansas City (psychology); Lindsey Clancey, Leawood, Kansas (trauma)