Concerns flared as La County completes $828 million sexual assault settlement

LA County officials have agreed not to pay $828 million in child sexual abuse arms, finalizing a deal while questions swirled over the payment of other claims that differed from the multibillion-dollar settlement they agreed to this spring.

The agency approved Tuesday brings the county’s spending on sex abuse trials this year to nearly $5 billion, which was done in April to clear thousands of claims filed in dozens of Count-Run Juvenile centers and foster homes.

The latest settlement involves similar claims brought by 414 clients of three legal entities who chose to negotiate separately from others. The $4 billion settlement initially covered nearly 6,900 claims, but more than 11,000 have been attached.

A larger settlement was explored after the Times found nine people who said they were paid to sue. One said they were told to use the claims. All had lawsuits filed by the Downtown La Law Group, which represented more than 2,700 clients in the first hearing.

The firm reportedly paid clients to submit and said “systems are in place to help weed out false or exaggerated allegations.” The company asked the court to dismiss three claims on behalf of the alleged fraud this month.

The decision approved on Tuesday involves only cases from Arias Sanguinetti Wang & Team, Manly, Stewart & Finali But the company and the church take the place of the class on Tuesday as the management pressured their top lawyer on how the cases were removed.

“How were we before this article?” Say Supervisor Kathryn Barger, looking closely at reporting ‘from the beginning of this month.

The county was in a tough spot, County Counsel Dawyn Harrison explained. Many defense attorneys don’t want their clients to be the talking point, he said. And the judge had temporarily suspended the process of the finder, which gives little insight into the composition of thousands of people.

Harrison said on Tuesday that the Dtla cases will now have to go through “a whole new level of review” beyond the usual one that has already been ongoing with the retirement of Louis Meinger. In addition to new discoveries A retired Mnani Court judge Vet all their cases, Dtla must provide the district with information about the miracles found by “the seller or seller,” he said.

“Dtla is required to see everyone who used it, a list of each claimant brought by the defendant, information about any money that changed hands, and a declaration in each oath that shows what was done,” says any money paid, “says any money paid.

It is an unusual request.

Sailor the law A practice known as barking, where solicitors ask or buy clients to register for cases with a court of law, has been banned.

Dtla denied knowledge of any of its clients receiving lawsuit payments and said the firm was seeking “justice for the real victims” of sexual harassment.

“If we saw that anyone associated with us, in any position, was doing something like that, we would immediately end our relationship with them,” said the Firm.

The rush of lawsuits was kicked off by a deviant bill called AB 218, which changed the statute of limitations for victims of sexual harassment and created a new window for filing lawsuits. The County, which oversees the safety of children within youth carceral and foster care settings, has seen more than 12,000 claims and counting since it began operating in 2020.

The alleged fraud that now surrounds these cases was the fault of an ‘unruly law,’ not the County’s permitting process, Harrison said.

“Abh 218 removed those Guardrali and allowed for decades that no one can reasonably say,” he said.

County attorneys and politicians have become increasingly vocal critics of the law, which they say has left them facing record-breaking decades of flooding. Supervisor Hilda Solis said she feels the County has become the “Guinea Pig” of this Bill.

Joe Nicchitta, Chief Executive Officer, estimated that anywhere between $1 billion to $2 billion in County tax taxpayer money from settlements will go to attorneys.

“The law had some very good intentions but it was … and I’ll say what I think, I was taken by the plaintiff’s bar,” he said. “They do all the exposure, they do all the takings, they do a lot of advertising. They work very hard to bring as many cases as possible.”

Nicchitta said he will hear rumors of venture capitalists doing rounds around Sacramento to find out “whether we have enough money to pay for another property, so they can deal with a law firm to bring another round of anti-trust.”

“It is clear to me that the system is being violated,” he said.

Courtney Thom, who was Holy’s attorney in the cases from Mandly, Stewart & Finali, said she believes the district blames the new law for its attorney’s failure.

“Blaming AB 218 AND THAT That’s what allows the fraud is just a sympathetic attempt to have a guilty plea,” said Thom. “Our company has been saying for two years that we are concerned about fraud.”

Mike Arias, who represents clients in recent settlements as a partner at Ariaas Sanguinetti Wang & Team, said the three firms involved have added more clients than last year.

“That’s a big show,” Arias said. “We said, at that time, the number of plaintiffs cannot change. Accordingly, my opinion was who we deserve.”

Arias said the second assignment will be made by Orange County District Judge Cahl Geail Adler, who oversees sexual assault charges. The potential payout will be between $750,000 and $3.25 million, he said.

Victims say the money represents a cry for justice for the abuse they say they suffered while incarcerated in Storady County — much less than the criminal prosecution.

One man, who is part of the residence hall and asked not to be identified, did not know what had happened in a cell in Barry J. Nidorf Juveile Hall, and knocked on the sleeping pills.

“I was out of control in that area,” said the man, now 34. “My body has never felt like that since.”

The County recently launched an “AB 218 fraud hotline” where tipsters can report misconduct related to the flood of claims. The county says it also plans to start a hotline for victims to safely report allegations of sexual abuse at its facilities.

“It is illegal for anyone to file, pay, or receive payments for filing non-child abuse claims,” ​​says a banner now running Atop The County Website.

The district has also introduced a Website That asks people to report whether they were offered cash to sue, which law firms were involved, and whether they were trained, among other questions.

Manager Holly Mitchell, whose district includes the South Center Services Serfices office where seven people recounted the times they were paid to sue, Plaintiff’s lawyers advertised for their cases.

“You couldn’t turn on an urban radio station without hearing commercials selling these cases,” Mitchell said. “I really hope whatever we use, as we talk about our reach, that we lean hard.”