Facts

Plaintiff John Doe is a former foster child who was repeatedly sexually assaulted for years by his foster father John Jackson in the late 1990s. Defendant is the private foster family agency Giarretto Institute.

Jackson was convicted of lewd and lascivious conduct involving plaintiff, and other minors, and sentenced to more than 200 years in prison.

PLAINTIFF'S CONTENTIONS:
Plaintiff contended that the Giarretto Institute was paid by the county to recruit, screen, monitor and investigate foster parents. Plaintiff asserted that the Institute was negligent in the screening of Jackson to be a foster parent, as well as the negligent supervision of the foster home (including negligently investigating the reported complaints in the foster home).

Plaintiff argued that a reference check was not done on foster parent, John Jackson and that had a reference check been done, it would have been discovered that John Jackson was not a suitable foster parent. Plaintiff contended that a cursory check revealed that Jackson had a history of inappropriate sexual conduct including sex with a minor, a history of drug and alcohol abuse, threats toward others with firearms, physical abuse toward his pregnant wife and suicide attempts resulting in psychiatric hospitalization.

Plaintiff argued that the Institute had no experience operating foster homes and that it did not properly train its employees. Plaintiff presented evidence that many of the Institute's employees had other full-time employment and only worked for the Institute on a part-time, off-hours basis. Plaintiff contended that when complaints of sex abuse were made by foster children in the Jackson home, the Institute sent out an investigator who had no training or experience investigating complaints of sexual abuse.

Plaintiff contended that, as a result of the Institute's negligence, Jackson was able to sexually molest plaintiff almost 600 times over a four-year period.

DEFENDANT'S CONTENTIONS:
The Giarretto Institute contended that it was not negligent and that it complied with all standards of care, including those set by the State of California, relating to the certification, monitoring and investigation of complaints in the home. Defendant also argued that its employees and contractors were properly trained and that there was no way it could have known that plaintiff was being molested by Jackson, since he did not report the molestation, showed no symptoms of molestation, no other children reported molestation, and none of the mandated reporters who visited the children on hundreds of occasions suspected any abuse or neglect. Defendant also argued that plaintiff's pre-foster life, in which he and his siblings were repeatedly removed from the home of his biological parents due to their extreme domestic violence and drug and alcohol use, was a major cause of his current symptoms.

Settlement Discussions

Plaintiff offered to settle this matter and another related matter for $4 million. Defendant made a CCP 998 offer of $500,000.

Injuries

Plaintiff contended that he now suffers from complex post-traumatic stress disorder.

Result

Jury verdict in the amount of $30 million for plaintiff. The jury apportioned 75 percent to the Giarretto Institute and 25 percent to John Jackson.

Other Information

FILING DATE: Sept. 6, 2006.

Deliberation

one day

Poll

12-0 (negligence as to Giarretto Institute), 10-2 (emotional distress damages)

Length

two and a half weeks