LA County is bringing in a retired judge to deal with the $4-billion question: How can officials ensure that the real victims are compensated for paying the most sexual abuse in the history of the US – and not the people who made their claims?
The county has included Daniel Buckley, a former presiding judge of the county’s superior court, in the veto lawsuits brought by the Lawntown La Law group after the discovery sessions nine people Represented by a firm that says it is being paid to sue the County by tenants. Four The plaintiffs said they were told to use the claims.
The Downtown LA Law Group, or DTLA, refused to pay some 2,700 other clients, but agreed to cover the costs of Buckley to examine their cases in the use of five billion dollars.
In a letter sent to clients on Monday, Andrew Mororney in sexual harassment cases, noted that there are “additional protections” and “additional agreements” following the new reports of paid clients, but did not directly address the new judge.
“While we categorically deny that this happened, we take these matters seriously and welcome the initiation of additional review processes to ensure that false claims do not continue in the process,” wrote Mortur, who is the Chairman of the Department of Large Companies.
On Oct. 17, Dawyn Harrison, the leading attorney of the County, requested an investigation on the state line based on the report ‘saying that he believes that one of the payment areas will flow to the “Pockets of the Plaintiffs” and not the victims.
“The actions described in this article, if reasonable, are despicable and run afoul of attorney ethics and criminal law in California,” Harrison said in a letter to Erika DoBherity, Executive Director of the Bar. “I am asking the state bar to investigate all possible fraudulent and illegal activities described in this letter.”
Dtla declined to comment last week. The firm once said it works “It is difficult to present only valid claims and has programs in place to help eliminate false or fraudulent allegations.”
The merits of the claim will be reviewed by retired District Court Judge Louis Meinger, who will determine awards between $100,000 and $3 million.
The amount will depend on the severity of the trauma, the impact on the victim’s life and the amount of evidence provided, according to the allocation protocol. The money will be paid over five years unless the victim comes in for a one-time check for $150,000.
If the judges find the cases they believe to be fraudulent, the County can settle them for a fee of $50,000 or remove them from liquidation. The district saves money in that case, but runs the risk of a miracle that continues with the garbage and landing a big payday in a jury trial.
It is not unusual – but not unheard of – for a neutral arbiter to be appointed to investigate cases arising from a particular animal in a large area.
Retired US Bankruptcy judge Barbara Houser, who represented a trust of $ 2.4 billion for the victims of the Scouts Scaters who abused crimes, after asking for “illegal events” and “factual procedural problems” among its plaintiffs.
Slater Slater Schulman, located in New York City, represents approx 14,000 victims in the case of the Boy Scouts. It also represents about 3,700 people in La County Settlement – the most of any company, by far.
On Oct. 14, Lawrence Friedman, who was a lawyer who led the office of the Federal Watchdog in the bankruptcy process, withdrew the fiery motion asking the mortgage to reduce the amount of the calculation in Slater, estimated at least $ 20 million. Friedman wants to dismiss them in this case, accusing the company of “running amok” and “tied the prospect of paying in the size of the lottery” in front of customers without preparation.
“The Slater Law Firm has little if any quality control to verify information on 14,600 claims without verifying that they are the same people who filed the claim,” the motion said. “… What a slide that has successfully created a ‘claims’ machine designed to kick in huge amounts of money itself!”
Clifford Robert, an outside attorney representing Slater Slater Schulman in its BOY Scouts litigation, said the firm’s prioritization “
Friedman, who was cleared of malpractice by Mass tort lawyers in the bankruptcy case, said he now represents a number of former Slater Plaintiffs. The apologetic clients alleged that the firm waited more than a year before telling them their cases had been added to other transactions and that their payments would be delayed. The firm told them this in September about the external investigation, which began in June 2024, according to an email attached on Oct. 14 Motion.
“We now acknowledge that there are procedural issues with some of our requests for trust,” Slater Slater Schulman’s three partners wrote in a joint email to clients on September 9.
Both judges will rule out sexual harassment charges against the LA County employee Signature signaturea company that specializes in resolving legal disputes out of court with a bad track record of lawyers. Browngreer case management firm browngreer will be the settlement management arm, responsible for making sure checks are cleared, liens are settled and judges have the records they need for 11,000 cases.
More sexual harassment that led to Revil $828-million to put Announced Oct. 17 will be reviewed by a separate judge and the money distributed over three years. That settlement, which involves claims from three firms that chose mud differently than others, is expected to receive final approval from the board of governors on Tuesday.
The county will provide the first tranche of money to the Fund managed by Browngreer in January, although it is not clear when that money will reach the victims. More fraud reviews would slow down the process as judges would have to decide what all 11,000 claims are worth before any money comes out.
“They should have had their duck in a row in the first place,” said Tammy Rogers, 56, who sued for sexual abuse at the Runy County Children’s Shelter in 2022.
Roger said he saw his bank account melt away following shoulder surgery and his daughter’s funeral. He said the weed that doubted the settlement money would come any time soon after learning the latest merger of the claimants who claim to be paid.
“They should have known people would come out and do things like this,” he said. “They should have taken us out of this at the beginning, not the end.”
Tammy Roger, one of the defendants suing La County for alleged abuse at Maclaren Hall, says she is concerned that more vetting could delay payments to victims.
(Carlin Stiehl/Los Angeles Times)
The number of claims has fluctuated in recent months as some firms have dismissed cases from claimants who have died, lost interest in their case, or stopped responding. Since the first investigation of the times ran on Oct. 2, Dtla asked for the dismissal of at least 14 defendants, according to an analysis of court records.
On Oct. 17, the firm asked the judge to dismiss three people from the firm 63 and filed on April 29, who told the Times that they would be paid to sue for sexual harassment.
Thaviavia Smith, Dtla who is being asked to be fired without discrimination, previously I said Sometimes the principal paid him to join the case, but he said he had a legal case of sexual abuse close to the County. He said the principal drove him to the Downtown Law Firm office and gave him $200.
The company was also asked to dismiss Nevada Barker and Austin Beagle’s discrimination and discrimination lawsuits, meaning the lawsuits could not be filed. Times corn This month when a Texan couple was told to make allegations of harassment in a run-run hall Both said they left the company with $100.
Times could not reach the alleged impulse to comment.
Austin Beagle and Nevada Barker say they were wrongly sued for fraud against La County filed by Downtown La Law Group.
(Joe Garcia / The Times)
Morning story published on Oct. 16, Beagle and Barker each received an automated email from Vinanegn, a legal E-Signature site, telling them that Downtown La Law requested the signature of the author.
“I wish to confirm my claim that I was sexually assaulted in the Los Angeles County District Court;
Both said they did not want to sign as it was not true – and the opposite of what had just been published that morning at times. Beagle said that he called twice early in the morning to talk.
“We told them to just take it out,” Beagle said. “We don’t talk about it.”
Timeline help data and Graphics Editor Sean Greene contributed to this report.
