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Lorie Ricks V UTA Complaint
Lorie Ricks V UTA Complaint
9990
3610 N. University Ave., Suite 275
Provo, Utah 84604
Telephone: (385)248-5700
Fax: (855)675-2674
Email: bboggess@boggesslawgroup.com
Attorney for Plaintiffs
Defendants.
COMES NOW, the Plaintiff, LORIE JEAN KENDALL RICKS, individually and as
authorized representative of THE ESTATE OF KAY PORTER RICKS, by and through her
attorneys, D. Brian Boggess and Boggess Law Group, and for causes of action against UTAH
TRANSIT AUTHORITY, a political subdivision of the State of Utah, by and through its Board
1. Plaintiff LORIE JEAN KENDELL RICKS (hereinafter “Mrs. Ricks” or “Plaintiff”) was
and is, at all times material, a resident of County of Utah, State of Utah.
Complaint – Page 1
created pursuant to the Utah Limited Purpose Local Government Entities - Local
Districts Act, Title 17B, Chapter One – and the Utah Public Transit District Act, Chapter
2(a), Part 8 of the Utah Code Annotated 1953, as amended (the “Act”), and is a public
3. UTA, comprised of its Board of Trustees (the “Board”), officers, management and
employees, is a political subdivision of the State of Utah; with those powers specifically
granted in the Act and with implied powers necessary to carry out the objectives and
4. At all times relevant hereto, UTA conducted its business within the State of Utah.
HARRISON is based in Utah and Wyoming. Flint Wayne Harrison died of an apparent
6. Upon information and belief, Defendant Dereck James Harrison is a resident of Utah
7. All events giving rise to this Complaint occurred in Salt Lake County, Utah, and venue in
8. The true names and capacities, whether partnership, individual, corporate, associate or
otherwise of Defendants John Does I through XXX and Doe Entities I through XXX,
inclusive, are unknown to Plaintiff at this date; that said Defendants are named herein by
fictitious names, but may be responsible or liable to the Plaintiff by virtue of the actions
hereinafter described and Plaintiff reserves the right to amend her Complaint to insert any
additional charging allegations, together with their true identities and capacities, when
9. Plaintiff is informed, believes and therefore alleges that at all times herein mentioned,
Complaint – Page 2
Defendants and each of them, were the agent, partner, employee and/or alter-ego of each
other, and in doing the things herein alleged, were acting within the course and scope of
said agency, partnership, or relation, with the permission and consent of their co-
defendants, and that each of them were working as a single entity and enterprise.
10. Plaintiff repeats and realleges the allegations contained in paragraphs 1 through 9 above
11. Kay Porter Ricks (“Mr. Ricks”) was hired as a full-time employee by UTA on or about
12. He was hired as a maintenance worker, and assigned to the swing shift, during which he
would perform maintenance services at various UTA bus and train stops and other
13. Mr. Ricks’ assigned shift often required him to be alone at UTA locations in downtown
14. The UTA Board has the power and responsibility to promulgate any and all resolutions,
orders and ordinances as it deems necessary for the operation and administration of UTA,
15. Upon information and belief, on numerous occasions, UTA employees performing
maintenance similar to Mr. Ricks, in locations similar to those serviced by Mr. Ricks,
were threatened, assaulted or harmed by vagrants and other individuals in the area of the
16. Upon information and belief, UTA employees had repeatedly made UTA management
aware of the dangers posed to UTA maintenance employees by their working alone in
unsafe areas.
Complaint – Page 3
17. Upon information and belief, various Union representatives raised concerns to UTA
management before the events which gave rise to this Complaint about the danger of
18. Notwithstanding UTA’s knowledge of the risks of its employees working alone in unsafe
19. Further, although global positioning system (“GPS”) units are inexpensive and common,
and their placement in corporate vehicles is now standard across the country, UTA failed
20. What UTA did offer its employees, during swing or overnight shifts and otherwise, was a
21. Upon information and belief, UTA failed to provide adequate training, supervision or
attention to the receiving end of “panic button” communications, such that a distress
signal sent via a panic button by Mr. Ricks was not received or acknowledged in
22. These failures on the part of UTA and its Board, to implement a policy requiring a
maintenance vehicles and to monitor and respond to a distress signal, would prove to
23. On May 12, 2016, Kay Porter Ricks was working his usual swing shift performing
maintenance at the UTA Ballpark TRAX Station located at 1300 S. 200 West in Salt
150 with a truck bed mounted equipment rack, UTA markings and bearing Utah license
plate number 206886EX. His UTA Maintenance Vehicle was not equipped with a GPS
unit.
25. At some time around 5:00 p.m., May 12, 2016, Mr. Ricks was approached by Flint
Wayne Harrison and Defendant Dereck James Harrison (the “Harrisons”), a father and
son who were the subject of a statewide manhunt for unrelated crimes.
26. The Harrisons had been staying at a hotel two (2) miles from the Ballpark TRAX Station,
27. Mr. Ricks attempted to make a distress transmission on his UTA-issued radio, and
sounds of commotion were transmitted before it was turned off about 5 p.m. Mr. Rick’s
29. Mr. Ricks’ assailants kidnaped him, forcing him into his UTA Maintenance Vehicle and
driving east along I-80 until they crossed the Wyoming border sometime around 6:30
p.m.
30. While it is unknown how the Harrisons kidnaped Mr. Ricks, crime scene investigators
have noted that Ricks suffered an injury to his right temple well-prior to his death.
31. Less than an hour after entering Wyoming, Mr. Ricks and the Harrisons arrived in the
Little Muddy Creek area, the Harrisons assaulted Ricks for eighteen (18) minutes,
savagely beat him in the face and head, slashed his throat, dragged him behind sagebrush
32. Afterward, the Harrisons used fluorescent green spray paint to hide the UTA logo on Mr.
Ricks' work truck, then drove about 15 miles north to Diamondville, Wyoming, where
Complaint – Page 5
they stopped at an Arctic Circle drive-thru before continuing north to Pinedale,
Wyoming.
33. Police officers found the body of Mr. Ricks near a dirt road five days later, on May 17.
He had somehow survived the beating, and had crawled or dragged himself out of the
34. An autopsy reported that Mr. Ricks ultimately died from "crushing wounds" to his face
and head, ostensibly from the Harrisons repeatedly hitting him in the face and head with
a blunt object, "which was swung with great accuracy and control."
35. It has since been learned that the object was one of the tools from Mr. Ricks’ UTA
Maintenance Vehicle.
36. The UTA truck was found near Half Moon Lake, near Pinedale, Wyoming, and the
Harrisons were arrested a few days after Mr. Ricks' body was found.
(Negligence as to UTA)
37. Plaintiff repeats and realleges the allegations contained in paragraphs 1 through 36 above
38. Defendant UTA owed Kay Ricks a duty of care to ensure that he could perform his
maintenance services in a safe manner, protected from injury or death from kidnaping or
39. Defendant UTA breached this duty to Mr. Ricks by failing to assign a second employee
or apprentice trainee to work with him in locations that UTA knew or should have known
40. Defendant UTA breached this duty to Mr. Ricks by failing to install GPS equipment on
his UTA Maintenance Vehicle, which could have pinpointed the location of the truck and
Complaint – Page 6
Mr. Ricks long before he suffered the injuries which ultimately caused his death.
41. Defendant UTA breached this duty to Mr. Ricks by failing to adequately respond to the
distress signals sent by Mr. Ricks as he was being accosted by the Harrisons, and by
42. As a direct and proximate result of the negligence and carelessness of UTA’s decisions
and conduct, Mr. Ricks suffered immensely at the hands of the Harrisons, and ultimately
43. As a direct and proximate result of the negligence and carelessness of UTA’s decisions
and conduct, Mrs. Ricks has suffered significant damages, including loss of consortium,
44. Mr. Ricks’ injuries and death have prevented him from engaging in his usual activities
and have prevented him from being part of the lives of his family and friends.
45. Therefore, Mrs. Ricks has been damaged as a direct and proximate result of UTA’s
46. Plaintiff has been required to secure the services of an attorney to prosecute this action
and is entitled to an award for her reasonable attorneys fees and costs of court incurred
herein.
47. Plaintiff repeats and realleges the allegations contained in paragraphs 1 through 46 above
48. Defendants Flint Wayne Harrison and Dereck James Harrison willfully and wantonly
49. As a direct and proximate result of their willful and wrongful acts, Kay Ricks suffered
Complaint – Page 7
needless death and Mrs. Ricks suffered needless damages, as more fully set forth below.
50. Despite actual knowledge of the risks to UTA employees in working alone in dangerous
areas, UTA, knowingly and with the knowledge that it was potentially harmful, sent Kay
the Ballpark TRAX Station alone, without the benefit of a GPS system in his UTA
Maintenance Vehicle.
51. Once Mr. Ricks was in distress, and utilized his UTA-issued communication device to
send out a call for help, UTA, knowingly and with the knowledge that said failure to
respond would result in harm to Mr. Ricks, failed to take adequate action to protect or
52. UTA knew or should have known, to a substantial certainty, that Kay Ricks and/or other
were working alone, their UTA vehicles did not have GPS capabilities, and UTA failed
distress calls.
53. As a direct and proximate result of UTA’s knowing and willful acts, Kay Ricks suffered
needless death and Mrs. Ricks suffered needless damages, as more fully set forth below.
54. Plaintiff has been required to secure the services of an attorney to prosecute this action
and is entitled to an award for her reasonable attorneys fees and costs of court incurred
herein.
55. Plaintiff repeats and realleges the allegations contained in paragraphs 1 through 55 above
caused the harm to Kay Ricks, as the controller of the information concerning the danger
to UTA employees from persons at various UTA work sites, and as a result of the
duty of care to Kay Ricks to warn him or the dangers and hazards of working alone, to
minimize the dangers and hazards, and to take reasonable and prompt steps to assist Kay
Ricks and its other employees in the event of assault or threat from other individuals.
57. UTA willfully and knowingly failed to warn Kay Ricks of the dangers and hazards, failed
to minimize the damages and hazards, and failed to take reasonable and prompt steps to
assist Kay Ricks when he was faced with assault or other threat.
58. As a direct and proximate result of UTA’s knowing and willful breach of its duties to
him, Kay Ricks suffered needless death and Mrs. Ricks suffered needless damages, as
59. Plaintiff has been required to secure the services of an attorney to prosecute this action
and is entitled to an award for her reasonable attorneys fees and costs of court incurred
herein.
60. Plaintiff repeats and realleges the allegations contained in paragraphs 1 through 59 above
61. As more fully set forth above, Defendants engaged in wrongful, intentional and/or
62. Mrs. Ricks, as the surviving spouse and personal representative of Kay Ricks, is the
acts, Kay Ricks suffered needless death and Mrs. Ricks suffered needless damages, as
64. Plaintiff has been required to secure the services of an attorney to prosecute this action
and is entitled to an award for her reasonable attorneys fees and costs of court incurred
herein.
65. Plaintiff repeats and realleges the allegations contained in paragraphs 1 through 64 above
66. Defendant UTA’s conduct as set forth herein resulted in the death of Kay Ricks.
67. The death of Kay Ricks has resulted in a loss of spousal consortium to Mrs. Ricks, his
wife.
68. As a result of Kay Ricks’ death, Mrs. Ricks has been deprived of the love,
companionship, society, solace and other attributes that make for the traditional marriage
to Kay Ricks which she enjoyed prior to the events of May 12, 2016.
69. Mrs. Ricks has endured the shock, sadness and anguish of losing her husband, partner,
70. Mrs. Ricks is entitled to recover an award for her loss of spousal consortium, in an
71. Plaintiff has been required to secure the services of an attorney to prosecute this action
and they are entitled to an award for their reasonable attorneys fees and costs of court
incurred herein.
Complaint – Page 10
SIXTH CAUSE OF ACTION
(Damages)
72. Plaintiff repeats and realleges the allegations contained in paragraphs 1 through 71 above
73. As a direct and proximate cause of the acts and omissions of the Defendants complained
of herein, the Plaintiff has suffered special damages and general damages in a sum
74. As a direct and proximate result of the acts and omissions of Defendants, Kay Ricks lost
his life and the Plaintiff has incurred the following damages:
b. Past and future physical pain and suffering for the loss of Kay Ricks;
c. Past and future emotional pain and suffering for the loss of Kay Ricks;
e. Past and future lost household services which would otherwise have been
f. Loss of earnings and earning capacity which would otherwise have been provided
by Kay Ricks;
h. Loss of care, companionship and guidance from the loss of Kay Ricks;
k. Punitive damages.
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Complaint – Page 11
WHEREFORE, Plaintiff respectfully requests judgment as follows:
4. For Plaintiff's attorneys fees and costs of suit incurred herein; and
5. For such other and further relief as to the Court may appear just and equitable.
Complaint – Page 12
DEMAND FOR JURY TRIAL
Plaintiff demands that all of the above issues and allegations be tried by jury.
Complaint – Page 13