K.H. v. Antioch Unified School District

Background

K.H., a minor represented by his guardian ad litem, Martarice Humphrey, sued Antioch Unified School District and Catapult Learning, Inc. The opinion states that K.H. had a learning disability and attended the Sierra School, a private special-education school operated by a subsidiary of Catapult.

According to the allegations summarized in the opinion, K.H. became agitated on December 12, 2017, and left his classroom to use permitted calming techniques. Teacher aides Samuel McBride and Jonique Andrews allegedly placed their hands on the back of his neck. After K.H. asked Andrews to let go, the aides allegedly forced him to the floor, causing his head to hit a desk, and used a two-person prone restraint. The incident allegedly caused a gash under his eye, a split lip, bleeding gums, a concussion, emotional distress, and fear of returning to school. An expert estimated future therapy costs of $244,150.

K.H. asserted negligence, tort, federal civil-rights, and California civil-rights claims against the school district and Catapult. The opinion states that an earlier order granted summary judgment to the school district on K.H.’s remaining federal claims, while state claims remained against the district. Federal and state claims also remained against Catapult. The parties later agreed to settle for a $450,000 payment by Catapult alone.

Settlement Approval

Because K.H. was a minor, the proposed settlement required court approval. The court’s task was to determine whether the settlement served K.H.’s best interests and whether his net recovery was fair and reasonable considering the facts, his claims, and recoveries in similar cases.

The opinion initially describes the proposed net recovery as $218,839.09 after attorney’s fees and costs. The court found that amount adequate in light of K.H.’s alleged physical and emotional injuries, anticipated needs, comparable settlements, and the substantial risk that he might recover nothing at trial. The court noted that defendants would likely dispute the alleged abuse, discrimination, and extent of K.H.’s emotional injuries, and that the school district had prevailed on the federal claims described in the opinion.

The court therefore granted approval of the settlement agreement. In its final accounting, the court deducted $51,160.91 in costs from the $450,000 settlement, leaving $398,839.09. It awarded attorney’s fees equal to 40 percent of that amount, or $159,535.64, leaving $239,303.45 for K.H. The order directed that Catapult’s $239,303.45 payment be deposited into a custodial account for K.H. and appointed Martarice Humphrey as custodian. The parties were ordered to file a stipulated dismissal under Rule 41(a)(1)(A) by May 7, 2020, at noon.

Attorney’s Fees and Costs

Counsel requested $180,000 in fees, based on a 40-percent contingent-fee agreement, and $51,160.91 in costs. The court held that California law required a court to review the reasonableness of fees and costs paid from a minor’s settlement. Because the fee agreement had not been approved in advance, the court was not required to award the contract amount.

The court considered counsel’s more than 1,300 billable hours, a lodestar exceeding $650,000, at least nine depositions and three defended depositions, multiple amended complaints, summary-judgment litigation, the complexity of Catapult’s corporate structure, legal issues described as matters of first impression, and the risk of receiving no payment. Although the court was initially inclined to award 33 percent, it concluded that these circumstances justified the requested 40-percent fee.

The court did not award the requested $180,000 because the 40-percent fee had to be calculated after deducting costs from the settlement. It awarded $159,535.64 in attorney’s fees instead. It also found the requested $51,160.91 in costs, which primarily covered depositions, experts, filing and printing, legal research, and local transportation, substantiated and reasonable. The request for fees and costs was therefore granted in part. Half of the fees and expenses was to be paid immediately, with the remainder payable after counsel certified that the funds had been properly distributed and the file could be closed.

Disposition

The court granted approval of the settlement agreement and granted in part counsel’s request for fees and costs. It ordered the custodial-account arrangements, the payments to counsel, and the filing of a stipulated dismissal. The opinion does not state that the dismissal had already been entered.