D.C. v. County of San Diego

Opinion

D.C., a minor by and through his Case No. 15-cv-1868-MMA (NLS) Guardian Ad Litem, HELEN GARTER, ORDER ADOPTING REPORT AND Plaintiff, RECOMMENDATION OF UNITED v. STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE, AND COUNTY OF SAN DIEGO, et al., Defendants. [Doc. No. 168]

GRANTING PETITION TO APPROVE MINOR’S COMPROMISE [Doc. No. 165] Pending before the Court is Judge Linda Lopez’s Report and Recommendation, Doc. No. 168, regarding Plaintiff’s petition for approval of minor’s interest in settlement, Doc. No. 165 (the “Petition”). In the Petition, Helen Garter, guardian ad litem for minor Plaintiff D.C., seeks an order approving a proposed settlement of D.C.’s claims against all Defendants. Doc. No. 165. The Petition is unopposed. Doc. No. 167. Judge Lopez has issued a thorough and well-reasoned Report recommending that the Petition be granted. See Doc. No. 168. Objections to the Report and Recommendation were due no later than January 6, 2022. Doc. No. 168 at 4. To date, no objections have been filed, and the time for doing so has expired. See Docket. District courts have “a special duty” to “safeguard the interests of litigants who are minors.” Robidoux v. Rosengren, 638 F.3d 1177, 1181 (9th Cir. 2011). The Court is required to limit the scope of its review to “whether the net amount distributed to [the] minor plaintiff in the settlement is fair and reasonable, in light of the facts of the case, the minor’s specific claim, and recovery in similar cases.” Id. at 1182. Pursuant to Civil Local Rule 17.1: No action by or on behalf of a minor or incompetent, or in which a minor or incompetent has an interest, will be settled, compromised, voluntarily discontinued, dismissed or terminated without court order or judgment. All settlements and compromises must be reviewed by a magistrate judge before any order of approval will issue.

CivLR 17.1.a. The Court finds that Judge Lopez has issued an accurate Report and well-reasoned recommendation. The Court concludes that the settlement amount is fair, reasonable, and in the best interest of the minor Plaintiff. Accordingly, the Court ADOPTS the Report and Recommendation in its entirety, GRANTS the Petition, and APPROVES the Settlement as follows: 1. $100,000.00 made payable to Structured Assignments SCC to fund future periodic payments to D.C. as outlined in Exhibit 1. Pursuant to the terms of the annuity, at specified intervals, D.C. will receive lump sum payments equal to a certain percentage of the account value plus proportionate index gains pursuant to the Security Benefit Life Insurance Company interest crediting strategies. The annuity therefore promises a guaranteed return that is not tied to the performance of the stock market, plus an additional return dependent upon the stock market performance. See Declaration of Marjorie Smith.! 2. $153,540.42 in attorneys’ fees, made payable to “The Law Office of Donnie R. Cox.” 3. $96,459.58 in costs advanced, made payable to “The Law Office of Donnie R. Cox.” Dated: January 14, 2022 Whikul Tl oy a tolls HON. MICHAEL M. ANELLO ll United States District Judge ' References to “Exhibit 1” and the “Declaration of Marjorie Smith” are attached to the Petition, Doc. No. 165, and are incorporated herein by reference.