May 14, 2024
Gisele and Enock Plancher are congratulated by their attorneys after winning $5 million each in their wrongful death suit. A Supreme Court ruling later limited UCF Athletics Association's payout to $200,000.
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Central Florida Spotlight
Court-Ordered Protection
Jason Garcia | 8/26/2015
The direct-support organization that runs the University of Central Florida’s athletics department is entitled to the same sovereign immunity protections as the university itself, according to a Florida Supreme Court ruling that helps shield similar athletics organizations at other universities from lawsuits. A trial court had ordered UCF Athletics Association to pay $10 million to the family of Ereck Plancher, a former UCF football player who died during a team practice in 2008. But because the Supreme Court ruled that it was entitled to sovereign immunity, the organization is only liable for $200,000 of that award. Any additional money will have to come from the Florida Legislature through a claims bill.
