DRUG SUSPECTS WIN INJURY LAWSUIT

Two men who police suspect were shot in a drug deal gone bad have won a
$1.7-million jury verdict against Ramada Inn for failing to provide
security that the men claim would have prevented the shooting.

Jerry Woods, 53, of Detroit and Eddie Talley, 58, of Columbus, Ga., sued
Ramada for negligence after the December 1995 shooting at a Ramada parking
lot in Hialeah, Fla. The hotel's attorney and police say the verdict was
preposterous but not surprising.

The trial judge had excluded any evidence about the alleged drug deal on the
grounds it could have unfairly tainted the case. "The jury heard half the
story," making the two men look like innocent victims, said Ramada's
attorney, George Fernandez, who plans to appeal the Nov. 3 verdict.