"L.A. County supervisors have unanimously approved an $828-million settlement for alleged victims of childhood sexual abuse, finalizing the deal while questions mount over the legitimacy of some claims in a separate multibillion-dollar payout that they agreed to this spring. The settlement approved Tuesday brings the county's spending on sex abuse litigation this year to nearly $5 billion, with the bulk of that total coming from a $4-billion deal made in April"
"The larger settlement has come under scrutiny after The Times found nine people who said they were paid to sue. Four said they were told to fabricate the claims. All had lawsuits filed by Downtown LA Law Group, which represents more than 2,700 clients in the first settlement. The firm has denied paying clients to sue and said it has "systems in place to help weed out false or exaggerated allegations.""
Los Angeles County supervisors approved an $828 million settlement resolving alleged childhood sexual abuse claims from 414 clients of three law firms who negotiated separately. Combined with an earlier $4 billion agreement, the county's sex-abuse litigation spending this year approaches $5 billion as the larger deal expanded from roughly 6,800 to over 11,000 claims. Allegations of fraud surfaced after investigators identified nine people who said they were paid to sue, with four claiming they were instructed to fabricate allegations; all nine had suits filed by Downtown LA Law Group. The Downtown LA firm denies paying clients, asserts it uses systems to screen allegations and has sought dismissal of some allegedly fraudulent claims, while supervisors pressed county attorneys about vetting procedures amid mounting concerns.
Read at Los Angeles Times
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