The National Trial Lawyers
  • Home
    • Meet Our Team
    • Contact Us
    • Mission & Goals
    • FAQ
  • Webinars
  • News
  • Membership Directory
    • Top 100 Map – Civil Plaintiff
    • Top 100 Map – Criminal Defense
    • Top 40 Under 40 Map – Civil Plaintiff
    • Top 40 Under 40 Map – Criminal Defense
  • Top 100
    • Civil Plaintiff Officers / Executive Committee
    • Criminal Defense Officers / Executive Committee
    • Benefits
    • About
    • Top 100 President’s Message
    • Diplomat
    • Membership Renewal
    • Member Profile Updates
    • Top 100 Badge
    • Media
  • Top 40
    • Civil Plaintiff Officers / Executive Committee
    • Criminal Defense Officers / Executive Committee
    • Top 40 Under 40 Trial Academy Bootcamp
    • Benefits
    • About
    • Top 40 President’s Message
    • Membership Renewal
    • Member Profile Updates
    • Top 40 Badge
    • Media
  • Specialty Assoc
    • About
    • Shop
    • Officers
    • Membership Renewal
    • Member Profile Updates
    • Media
  • Nominate
    • Top 100
    • Top 40
    • Specialty Association
    • Trial Lawyer Hall of Fame
    • Trial Lawyer of the Year
    • Trial Team of the Year
    • America’s Most Influential Trial Lawyer
    • America’s Most Influential Law Firm
    • Lifetime Achievement Award
  • Shop
  • Magazine
    • A-List
  • Education and Networking Agenda
    • Trial Lawyers Summit
      • Summit Sponsors
    • Top 40 Under 40 Trial Academy Boot Camp
    • Mass Torts Made Perfect
    • The Lanier Master Class 5.0 Trial Academy 2021
    • Webinars
  • Hall of Fame
    • Trial Lawyer Hall of Fame

$4 Million Settlement in Sexual Molestation Case in California Foster Care

Posted on September 27, 2016 by Larry Bodine
Richard B. Koskoff

Attorney Richard B. Koskoff

A California foster care agency paid $4 million to settle a lawsuit by two grade school children charging that it placed a sexual predator in their foster home who molested them over six months.

The settlement was negotiated by Richard B. Koskoff, Amy S. Nnen, and Carly L. Edson of the Law Offices Of Booth & Koskoff in Torrance, CA, and Raymond F. Dolen with Orrock Popka Fortino Tucker & Dolen in Redlands, CA.

The name of the foster family agency was confidential.

Plaintiffs Raheem O., Jr., age 9, and Anthony E., age 10, were both removed from their parents’ custody as a result of abuse and neglect and were placed into the dependency system. In approximately August 2008, Raheem O., Jr. was placed in the foster home of Bridgette Frields.

Sexual abuse

Approximately one year later, the County of San Bernardino and a foster family agency placed another dependent child, Rickie F., in the same home. In November 2010, it was discovered that Rickie F., who was several years older than Raheem O., Jr., had been repeatedly and continuously sexual abusing and molesting plaintiffs Anthony E. and Raheem O., Jr. in their foster home.

The plaintiffs filed suit in San Bernardino County Superior Court and alleged that defendants knew, or should have known, that Rickie F. had a history of sexually molesting younger, male children. Plaintiffs further alleged that defendants breached their mandatory duty to warn by failing to warn the foster mother, Bridgette Frields, of Rickie’s dangerous propensities.

The defendants contended that they had no knowledge of Rickie’s history of sexual abuse. Further, defendants claimed that Rickie had been successfully rehabilitated, since at least five years had passed without incident by the time Rickie was placed in the Frields’ home. Lastly, defendants claimed that the boys were engaging in consensual sex play and that plaintiffs did not suffer injuries or damages, and that any damages that did exist were the result of their poor backgrounds and upbringing, and not the result of any sexual molestation by Rickie F.

The parties participated in two mediations with mediator Darrell A. Forgey and reached a $4,000,000 settlement on August 10 just two days prior to trial.

The plaintiff’s experts were Susan Culbertson, Social Worker Expert, Sarah Dehay, Foster Family Agency Expert, Tamorah Hunt, Economist, David Paster, M.D., Psychiatrist, and Amy Sutton, Ph.D., Life Care Planner.

 

Posted in Blog

Comments are closed.

News Categories

Subscribe to Blog and VFJ via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog, the Voice for Justice and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Read about other Top Jury Verdicts

Pharmaceutical Giant Johnson & Johnson is Preparing $3.9B for Talc Settlements

Pharmaceutical Giant Johnson & Johnson is Preparing $3.9B for Talc Settlements

Pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson has set aside $3.9 billion for talc-related litigation, according to a regulatory [Read More...]
Alaska Airlines Will Pay $3.19M Following the Death of a Passenger

Alaska Airlines Will Pay $3.19M Following the Death of a Passenger

Seattle-based Alaska Airlines has been ordered to pay more than $3 million to the family of a passenger of reduced mobility w[Read More...]
No thumbnail available

Keith Givens on the Trial Lawyers Summit and Lanier Trial Academy

https://vimeo.com/515910581 Michelle Swanner, Executive Director of The National Trial Lawyers, interviews Keith Givens[Read More...]
A $220M Settlement Reached in National Milk Producers' Herd Retirement Program

A $220M Settlement Reached in National Milk Producers' Herd Retirement Program

ST. LOUIS, Feb. 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- A $220 million settlement has been reached in a class-action law[Read More...]
Mountaire Farms Proposes a $65M Settlement for Contaminating the Millsboro-Area Groundwater and Air

Mountaire Farms Proposes a $65M Settlement for Contaminating the Millsboro-Area Groundwater and Air

It’s a lawsuit that’s been years in the making, but the class-action suit against Mountaire Farms may be approach[Read More...]

#LegalNews

@@TheNTLtop100

Contact Us | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy

Attorney information and content provided on this website is provided for the benefit of members of The National Trial Lawyers and as a public service by Legal Associations Management, Inc. The website and all data are the property of Legal Associations Management, Inc. Data, including without limitation attorney information and content, on the site may not be mined, sold, or used commercially for any purpose without the explicit written consent of Legal Associations Management, Inc. This site may not be accessed by any automated program for extracting data for any use. By accessing and using the site you agree that you will not develop, support or use software, devices, scripts, robots, or any other means or processes (including crawlers, browser plug-ins and add-ons, or any other technology) to scrape data or otherwise copy profiles and other data. Unauthorized use or attempted unauthorized use of this system may subject you to both civil and criminal penalties.