James O. Holloway Sr., pictured with an unidentified child, died March 21 after being reported missing from his apartment on 103rd Street. He drowned in a retention pond there, and his family is suing management for negligence, | Holloway family
Published on September 2, 2026 at 3:10 pm
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A family whose 85-year-old father died after falling into a retention pond at his Westside apartment complex is suing the management for negligence.
The legal action comes only days after the Jacksonville City Council announced a special committee to look into retention pond safety after two children died in Northside ponds last month.
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James O. Holloway Sr., who was diagnosed with dementia, was reported missing March 21 from the complex at 6734 103rd St. He was found drowned in one of its three retention ponds that afternoon, after police conducted a missing person search for him.
Holloway’s family has filed a lawsuit seeking damages from Wendover Management LLC, which operates the Marcis Pointe Apartments.
The suit, filed by attorney Adam Finkel on behalf of the dead man’s children, LaTonya Stewart and Darrin Holloway, maintains that Holloway slipped into the pond because it was not “being maintained in compliance with mandatory maintenance strictures,” including its shoreline slope.
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Wendover and the complex failed to monitor the retention pond, warn residents and guests that it was dangerous, or train employees how to maintain the pond, the suit says.
As a result, Holloway had direct access to the water, was “cajoled” toward the slope and could not get out of the water, the suit says.
“James O. Holloway Sr. should never have been able to gain access to the pond, as the pond should have been fenced or otherwise restricted from public access,” the suit says.
Officials at Marcis Pointe Apartments and Wendover Management LLC did not immediately respond to Jacksonville Today‘s requests for comment.
The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office posted a missing person alert for Holloway on March 21, saying that he left his home on 103rd Street about 6 p.m. the day before.
The alert said Holloway was able to walk but moved at a very slow pace.
Retention pond concerns
The issue of safety around Jacksonville’s retention ponds arose again last month after a 7-year-old child drown Aug. 5 in a retention pond near his home off Broward Road near Interstate 95. Then a 3-year-old child died Aug. 24 after falling into a retention pond in the Waterside Townhomes at River City, according to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office. Both children had autism, police said.
The Florida Department of Children and Families’ recorded 91 deaths by drowning statewide through August of this year, four of them in Jacksonville. Statistics show that Florida loses more children under the age of 5 to drowning than any other state.
City Council member Reggie Gaffney Jr. held a town meeting in late August to hear concerns and safety suggestions from the community. Council President Nick Howland then set up a special committee to research retention pond risks and safety.
The first meeting of the special committee will be at 3:30 p.m. Sept. 9 at City Hall.
