Williams v. County Of Monterey

Background

Monia Williams brought the action individually and as guardian for her minor children, L.S. and Q.S. The action named the County of Monterey, the City of Salinas, and several individuals as defendants. The opinion states that the action followed the removal of L.S. and Q.S. from Williams’s care.

The defendants agreed to settle all claims with Williams for $1,200,000. The plaintiffs filed a renewed petition asking the court to approve the settlement of the children’s claims. Court approval was required because the settlement involved minors.

Proposed Distribution

The petition proposed allocating $110,000 to plaintiffs’ counsel for reimbursement of costs, applied proportionally to the plaintiffs’ recoveries, and $600,000 to counsel as the agreed 50% contingency fee. It proposed paying $245,000 to Williams, $122,500 to L.S., and $122,500 to Q.S., after the specified cost reimbursements.

Ruling

Judge Beth Labson Freeman determined that the proposed distribution was fair and reasonable to L.S. and Q.S. The court granted the petition, approved the settlement of the children’s claims against all defendants under the parties’ settlement terms, and approved the attorneys’ fees and costs described in the petition.

The court did not require an amended petition, provided that the interest rate used to calculate the children’s periodic payments would not decrease by more than five percent before the annuity funding those payments was funded under the settlement agreement and release.