Civil rights attorney Ben Crump has scored another major legal victory, securing a staggering $779 million verdict in a wrongful death case for grieving widow Kimberly Butler. The verdict comes after years of fighting for justice on behalf of Florida security guard Lewis Butler, who was shot dead at an internet café. Crump added another landmark win to his record of fighting for justice, continuing to challenge a system long stacked against Black folks and the most marginalized.
A Gadsden County jury awarded a jaw-dropping $779,389,024.37 to the family of Lewis Butler, who was shot dead during a 2023 armed robbery at a Havana, Florida, business allegedly involved in illegal gambling. The case argued that the internet café — operated by Fortune MGT 2023 LLC and Manishkumar Patel — failed to report an earlier robbery at the same location, and ignored known security risks despite being aware of illegal gambling activity.
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Butler v. Fortune MGT 2023 LLC
The wrongful death case of Butler v. Fortune MGT 2023 LLC pushed further, highlighting that the café was negligently run and failed to take necessary safety precautions after a prior robbery at the establishment. Butler was shot eight times while trying to protect a cashier and died from his injuries. The case argues that the first robbery was never reported due to internal ties to gambling — negligence that led to Butler’s death, per Tallahassee Democrat.
“Obviously, we want to compensate the family for this monumental loss that they suffered, this monumental wrong that this jury verdict helped to have a monumental right,” Crump stated.
And while the victory has been secured, Kimberly Butler is still striving for lasting change, as the widow rallies for “internet gambling cafés” to be shut down for good going forward.
“The second thing is Mrs. Kimberly Butler testified, since her husband was murdered, she’s doing everything she can to try (and) get these internet gambling cafes shut down,” Crump detailed per the news outlet, “because she thinks that they are an invitation for criminal activity.”
The nearly $780 million verdict stands among the largest negligent-security wrongful death awards in Florida history, and marks a defining moment of justice for Black families who are so often overlooked.
From Ahmaud Arbery to George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Trayvon Martin, civil rights attorney Ben Crump rose to prominence leading the fight for victims of police brutality and injustice in America. Crump’s work continues to push the nation forward, challenging systemic forces that disproportionately impact Black folks and the most marginalized across the nation.
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