$139,750,000 Settlement Reached in Miramonte School Child Sex Abuse Cases

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 21, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- The Los Angeles Unified School District has agreed to pay a record $139,750,000 to 81 victims that were allegedly sexually abused and exploited by a convicted pedophile teacher while attending Miramonte Elementary School in Los Angeles.  The settlement will be allocated to victims on a case-by-case basis by a retired judge appointed by the Los Angeles Superior Court. 

The teacher, Mark Berndt, pleaded no contest last November to 23 charges of lewd conduct upon a child, and was sentenced to 25 years in prison.  He was accused in that case of feeding his own semen in cookies and spoons to children and photographing them in sadomasochistic-like poses, sometimes with tape over their eyes and mouths.

Jury selection was underway in the first of the Miramonte civil cases to go to trial in Los Angeles Superior Court when the settlement was announced.  Plaintiffs' lawyer planned to introduce evidence that LAUSD administrators were aware of numerous instances of sexual misconduct dating back to 1983, but failed to supervise or terminate him.  They also uncovered evidence that LAUSD had destroyed potentially thousands of child abuse reports and logs that had been maintained for decades.    

Lead victims' attorneys, John Manly and Vince Finaldi of Manly, Stewart & Finaldi LLP called the settlement "the largest ever against a school district in a sex abuse case."  Manly's firm along with co-counsel Thomas Moore and Ronald Labriola of The Senators Firm LLP represent 38 of the victims.   

John Manly said, "This settlement will help compensate victims who were horribly exploited by a deviant predator who was allowed to prey on some of the District's most vulnerable children." Manly also said he hoped the evidence uncovered during the case would lead to "top down" changes in child abuse prevention policies at LAUSD and other school districts. 

About Manly, Stewart and Finaldi 
Manly, Stewart and Finaldi have successfully litigated multiple significant national media-garnering claims against large religious entities, municipalities and Fortune 500 companies, at the trial, appellate and Supreme Court levels, helping to define the liability and duties of these entities with respect to abuse claims. Over the past decade, John Manly, Vince Finaldi and their legal team have been heavily involved in the most significant sexual abuse actions litigated across the nation, assisting in the recovery of more than a billion dollars—through trial and settlement—on behalf sexual abuse victims. 
Contact
John Manly (Kathy Frederiksen)
(949) 252-9990
[email protected]
For more information about the firm, please visit www.manlystewart.com

SOURCE Manly, Stewart and Finaldi

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