What School Districts Need to Know About Abuse Claims, Documentation & Insurance
By Rick Capra
Chair
Tressler LLP
Charles LeMoine
Attorney
Tressler LLP
Rosa Tumialan
Partner
Tressler LLP
Rise of Nuclear Verdicts
Nuclear verdicts – a term used to refer to jury awards that exceed $10 million or more levied against defendants for an alleged wrongdoing – are on the rise. These verdicts are often talked about in conjunction with social inflation, which occurs when juries and courts side with plaintiffs in claims against corporations.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce Institute for Legal Reform published a paper analyzing 1,288 nuclear verdicts delivered between January 1, 2013, and December 31, 2022. The study revealed that there is an upward trend in nuclear verdicts. Illinois was among the top 10 states for nuclear verdicts, and the study suggests that the state “is moving in a direction that will make the state more prone to nuclear verdicts.” For instance, a jury in Champaign County returned a $535 million verdict against Pavilion Behavioral Health Center in March 2024. The jury awarded $60 million in compensatory damages and $475 million in punitive damages relating to a sexual assault.
A California jury awarded $102.5 million in 2022 to two women who sued a Northern California school district for failure to stop a middle school teacher from grooming and abusing them as minors. More recently, a Los Angeles jury awarded $900 million to a plaintiff who sued a defendant for sexual assault, sexual harassment and rape.