SPECIAL ISSUE:
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S A N TA M O N I C A
REFLECTING THE CONCERNS OF THE COMMUNITY smmirror.com
INSIDE
P-77 Joins Mountain Lion Family
PAGE 18
November 29 – December 5, 2019 Volume XXII, Issue 19
Beach Club to Pay Woman $10M+ After Son Dies Jury renders verdict to Santa Monica mother of William M. Keck III By Sam Catanzaro A Santa Monica woman will receive over $10 million from a beach club after her 48-year-old son died from heat exhaustion during a 2017 paddle tennis tournament. On Monday, November 25 a Santa Monica jury rendered a $12 million verdict to Katherine “Kitty” Keck of Santa Monica, the mother of 48-year-old William M. Keck III of Marina Del Rey, who suffered from fatal heat exhaustion at the Bel-Air Bay Club in Pacific Palisades. According to Gina Fernandes, Director of Public Relations for Juris Productions in a press
William and Kitty Keck.
Photos: Courtesy Keck Family
release sent on behalf of the plaintiffs, Keck III died from a heart arrhythmia caused by elevated potassium due to heat exhaustion on September 3, 2017. His mother Kitty sued the Bel-Air Bay Club claiming the staff failed to call 911 or
administer proper first aid for over three hours after Keck began showing signs and symptoms of heat exhaustion. “Safety was a big factor that was ignored and my son would still be alive if someone had just called for help,” said Kitty Keck. “It’s always better to be safe than sorry,” added Keck. During the two-week trial, Keck’s attorneys argued the Club employees owed a duty of care to Keck to recognize his symptoms, his worsening condition and to get him medical aid sooner. “This case was about the stunning lack of training and negligence that caused a tragic death that could have been prevented,” said lead plaintiff attorney Bruce Broillet. “We hope this verdict sends a message to other athletic facilities and clubs to take heat exhaustion seriously,” he added. According to Fernandes, Keck III had been playing paddle tennis at a tournament on a "hot
and humid" day. "Around 1:30 pm he started cramping and asked a locker room attendant to massage his calf. The cramps persisted and worsened over the next few hours while the locker room attendant continued to massage Keck III. The cramping spread and he continued to sweat in the hot and humid locker room in spite of receiving water and Gatorade. No one from the Club one called 911 until he started having difficulty breathing at 4:57 p.m. The paramedics arrived four minutes later to find Keck turning blue. The Club had procedures requiring a call to 911 for heat exhaustion that was not followed for more than three hours. Keck III died at the hospital at 5:56 pm," Fernandes said. Keck III is the son of the late William M. Keck II. He was a commercial real estate broker
DEATH, see page 18
Fiscal Challenges for SMMUSD Superintendent says state funding, transition to basic-aid among culprits By Sam Catanzaro The head of the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District (SMMUSD) is warning of fiscal challenges facing the district, saying that reserve funds are “too low for comfort”. On November 22, SMMUSD Superintendent Dr. Ben Drati released a letter to parents and staff titled “SMMUSD Budget: Challenges and Opportunities Ahead.” “At this point, SMMUSD’s fund balance is too
low for comfort; our reserves are lower than they should be, and there is no indication in the near future that there will be an increase in revenue from state, federal or local sources of funding,” Drati said. Drati pointed to the State of California as the source of many of the issues facing the district. California ranks 41st in the nation in education funding, and Drati said that state funding has been “extremely volatile” for years. “Like many other districts in the State of California, SMMUSD has been challenged by a structural fiscal deficit spending cycle for a long time. This means that our operational expenditures are greater than the revenues we receive in combined state, federal and local funding,” Drati said.
According to the district, some factors behind the revenue deficit include increases in healthcare and other employee-related costs and in general operations, including the costs of supplies and services. In addition, Drati said SMMUSD is faced with a growing teacher
shortage, a crisis that confronts school districts throughout the nation. “Housing prices on the westside of Los Angeles have risen dramatically, which impacts our
BUDGET, see page 18
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