In a dramatic legal confrontation, a resident of Lakewood, Florida, has taken the City of Riviera Beach to court over allegations of negligence that resulted in significant personal injuries. The complaint was filed by Clorine Howe-Muhammad on January 3, 2025, in the Circuit Court of the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit in Palm Beach County, Florida. Howe-Muhammad is seeking damages exceeding $100,001 from the City of Riviera Beach following an incident involving a hazardous utility box.

The case revolves around an incident that occurred on April 13, 2023. On this day, Clorine Howe-Muhammad claims she was walking as an invitee along a sidewalk at or near 127 W. Blue Heron Boulevard in Riviera Beach when her footwear became ensnared by a broken utility box. This defect allegedly caused her to fall and sustain serious injuries. The plaintiff asserts that the utility box had been neglected for years and posed a foreseeable risk to pedestrians due to its defective condition.

Howe-Muhammad accuses the City of Riviera Beach of several counts of negligence. She argues that the city failed to maintain and inspect the property adequately, did not warn visitors about potential dangers, and neglected to repair or restrict access to hazardous areas like the faulty utility box. According to the complaint, these failures constitute breaches of duty owed by the city to ensure public safety on its premises.