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According to Linda Williamson, judicial
assistant to Judge William P. Levens of the 13th Judicial Circuit, the
parties settled the case on April 30. The Appleby family’s attorney,
Robert Herce, could not be reached for comment. Stating that the
settlement was confidential, Westchase Community Association (WCA)
President Ruben Collazo declined to comment on the matter, refusing even
to clarify whether the agreement would result in a special assessment of
all Westchase homeowners.
Appleby, a member of the Westchase Dolphins Swim Team under then Coach
Graig Fischer, drowned in the pool on May 5, 2005. The autopsy
attributed the drowning to a fainting spell. Appleby, 8, was found by
Fischer and fellow staff members after the swim team had been evacuated
from the pool following an afternoon thunderstorm. Fischer, the WCA, the
Westchase Dolphins Swim Team and the WCA’s management company, Greenacre
Properties, Inc., were named defendants in the settled suit.
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