Judge to Laboy Attorneys: Clarify Arguments in Lawsuit Against Cab Company

A judge Wednesday dismissed one claim in a multimillion-dollar lawsuit brought by Alexandria Police Officer Peter Laboy against Alexandria Yellow Cab, which employed a man suspected of shooting the officer in the head.

The judge dismissed a negligent entrustment claim, one of the three claims brought by Laboy's attorneys.

Speaking on behalf of Yellow Cab, attorney Chap Petersen said Wednesday: "We did everything we're supposed to do."

"It's not something we could have prevented," said Petersen, of Surovell, Isaacs, Petersen and Levy PLC. "The drivers own the vehicles. Our position is this was a tragic incident. But [Yellow Cab] is not liable."

"There's not enough there to justify continuing litigation," Petersen said Wednesday, after the hearing.

An attorney for Laboy, the Alexandria police officer, said: "We're absolutely going forward" with the lawsuit against Yellow Cab. 

"One of the critical things that came up this morning, no matter what anyone says, is the indisputable judicial finding that this guy [suspect Kashif Bashir] is insane and hallucinatory and Yellow Cab was putting this guy out on the streets," said Atlanta attorney David Martin, who was in town to represent Laboy at the hearing in Alexandria. "There's nothing they can say about that."

The Honorable Donald M. Haddock Jr., presiding over Wednesday morning's hearing in Alexandria General District Court, is giving Laboy's attorneys 10 days to beef up their arguments, including information about suspect Bashir's mental condition.

Laboy's attorneys will argue that Alexandria Yellow Cab was negligent in hiring and retaining Kashif Bashir. "The judge said he wants us to file an amended complaint within 10 days clarifying all of the various things that have come to light," Martin said.

"Things...have come to light [about Bashir's mental condition] past the filing of the initial complaint," Martin said.

Laboy, who was shot in the head Feb. 27 while responding to an incident involving an Alexandria Yellow Cab driver, filed a complaint in June alleging the taxi company was negligent in the hiring and supervision of its drivers and that such negligence contributed to his shooting.

Alexandria Yellow Cab claims it could not have known one of its drivers was dangerous and that the suspect in the February shooting of Alexandria Police Officer Peter Laboy was an independent contractor and not an employee of the cab company, according to court papers.    

The company made its claims about the driver, Bashir of Woodbridge, in a demurrer seeking to dismiss the civil suit filed by Laboy against the company.

The suit seeks $10 million in compensatory damages—$5 million for one count of negligent hiring and retention and $5 million for one count of negligent entrustment. The complaint cites damages of lost wages, medical fees and compensation for mental anguish, pain and suffering.

Patch Editor Drew Hansen contributed to this story.