Facts

On September 30, 2021, Mark Alter, as guardian ad litem for his brother, Alan Alter, a Vietnam veteran with severe mental illness, sued the County of San Diego for municipal liability and professional negligence.

PLAINTIFF'S CONTENTIONS: Plaintiff asserted that Alan spent about 20 years involuntarily confined as a "mentally disordered offender" due to mistakes made by the public defender offices. Though Alan suffers from a significant mental illness, he should not have been classified as a mentally disordered offender because the crime he was convicted of did not qualify for involuntary commitment. Accordingly, had his appointed public defender reviewed the qualifying offenses list and raised the issue with the court, Alter would have been released at the conclusion of his parole in early 2000, or any of the ensuing years thereafter, rather than being released in January 2021.

DEFENDANT'S CONTENTIONS: Defendant denied all contentions, raising, among others, several legal challenges including statutory immunity and statute of limitations.

Result

The case settled for $760,000 with $450,000 of that amount to fund a structured settlement annuity and approximately 33.33% for attorney's fees.