The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors has launched an investigation of possible misconduct by plaintiffs’ attorneys involved in a $4 billion settlement with child sexual abuse victims announced in April.
Supervisor Kathryn Barger moved last month to investigate attorneys’ involvement in an alleged scheme to offer individuals cash to fabricate charges of past child sexual abuse within the county’s probation and foster care system. The allegations were initially made in a Los Angeles Times story focusing on alleged payments to plaintiffs by recruiters in cases that were subsequently advanced by the Downtown L.A. Law Group (DTLA).
The supervisors’ decision to agree to a $4 billion settlement to resolve child sexual abuse allegations by about 11,000 plaintiffs followed the enactment of Assembly Bill 218 in 2019. That measure extended the statute of limitations for victims to file civil lawsuits.
“It is appalling to consider that dishonest legal representatives would exploit reforms that were intended to deliver justice to survivors of abuse and diminish legitimate cases, further revictimizing the most vulnerable,” Barger’s motion states. “As stewards of taxpayer dollars, we have a duty to protect the integrity of the system and ensure that any legal settlements are truly serving those who were victimized.”
In an email to the Southern California Record, DTLA denied its attorneys acted improperly.
“We have always worked hard to present only meritorious claims and have systems in place to help weed out false or exaggerated allegations,” the law firm’s statement says. “We filtered through nearly 13,000 inquiries and only accepted a fraction of the cases that reached out to us.”
DTLA said it does not pay clients to file legal complaints and that the law firm stands against such practices. The firm represented more than 2,700 of the plaintiffs involved in the settlement, according to media reports.
“If we ever became aware that anyone associated with us, in any capacity, did such a thing, we would end our relationship with them immediately,” the law firm’s statement says. “We want justice for real victims.”
The Board of Supervisors directed the county counsel to probe potential attorney misconduct in plaintiffs’ AB 218 claims and to seek the assistance of law enforcement if needed. The board also called on the county counsel to refer cases of legal misconduct to the California State Bar if appropriate.
The investigation will include a review of the $4 billion settlement agreement and a determination of whether additional procedures to verify AB 218 claims are required. In addition, the board plans to establish a fraud hotline for people to report fraud allegations in such claims anonymously.
The Consumer Attorneys of California (CAOC), a trial lawyer trade group, earlier this month urged the State Bar to investigate any alleged misconduct by the DTLA Law Firm.
“This is not a matter that can wait,” Geoffrey Well, the CAOC president, said in a statement. “Illegal ‘capping’ and ‘running’ – generating lawsuits by paying intermediaries to drive claimants to a particular attorney or firm – are corrosive practices explicitly prohibited under California Law.”
On Oct. 11, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed legislation authored by state Sen. Thomas Umberg (D-Santa Ana), Senate Bill 37, which gives California residents the right to file legal actions against attorneys and law firms that are involved in illegal and unethical practices. Supporters of the measure say it would help to hold bad actors in the profession accountable.
