Couple was attacked at gunpoint in their luxury apartment
SM COURTHOUSE — Theirs is the kind of lawsuit movies are made of.
It starts with Oliver Starr, a 36-year-old former bicycle racer and sales consultant, and his ex-girl-friend, Julien Serrano.
Four years ago, the couple had just gotten engaged. Things were good. They were living in a luxury seaview apartment in Pacific Palisades. Starr was raking in $35,000 a month.
That all changed on Aug. 18, 2000, a typical Friday afternoon, when four gunmen stormed into their apartment in broad daylight, tied up the couple and their two lunch guests, severely beat Starr and demanded $30,000 in cash.
But that wasn’t the end of it. Apparently, the gunmen had the wrong apartment. They were looking for a man named “Matt,” a reported drug dealer who just days before had packed up and left his apartment downstairs in the middle of the night, lawyers said. When they realized their mistake, the gunmen left. Starr was left barely able to walk for three months and Serrano was traumatized, having been groped and threatened with rape by the intruders.
Unable to bring the gunmen to justice, Starr and Serrano, who have since separated, are suing their landlords, Sunset Pacifica, owned by Marvin Engineering Co., for what their lawyer said exceeds $1 million in lost wages and emotional trauma. The plaintiffs claim Sunset Pacifica didn’t do enough to protect their security.
Opening arguments in the trial are expected today, after lawyers finish selecting jurors, a process that began Thursday. The case is being heard by Santa Monica Superior Court Judge Valerie Baker.
Attorney Blaine Greenberg argues the landlords of the property at 17351 Sunset Blvd., just off the Pacific Coast Highway, should be held responsible for as much as $900,000 in lost wages and an unspecified amount for emotional stress the couple suffered by being “robbed, assaulted, beaten and sexually molested.”
Greenberg said the landlords knew about a history of alarming behavior at or near the apartment building, but failed to act to protect their tenants. What’s more, he said the security elevator used by the gunmen to access the building was not functioning properly, and anyone passing by could have accessed it.
Landlords deny culpability, contending that virtually no amount of extra security measures would have protected the couple and their guests.
“Our defense is that, look, this is four men, armed and intent on breaking in by any means necessary,” attorney Gilbert Garcia said. “I think they could probably have gotten into Fort Knox if they’d wanted to.”
“Our defense is that, look, this is four men, armed and intent on breaking in by any means necessary.” — — GILBERT GARCIA Defendant’s attorney
Jennifer Lechter, director of real estate at the Sunset Boulevard property, plans to attend the trial on behalf of Marvin Engineering. The landlords are counter suing the couple for about $40,000, saying their lease was broken without permission.
“The bottom line is that it’s an unfortunate incident that doesn’t rise to the level of negligence,” Lechter said this week.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on January 9, 2004. Read the original PDF.