USC Doctor Sexual Abuse Class Settlement Wins Final Approval

A settlement agreement between the University of Southern California and a class of women allegedly sexually abused by an on-campus physician between 1989 and 2016 is fair, reasonable, and adequate, a federal court in California said.

Judge Stephen V. Wilson of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California Feb. 14 orally approved the settlement and ordered the parties to submit a proposed final approval order and judgment.

The settlement will provide relief for a class of about 18,000 women who were allegedly abused by George Tyndall while being treated at the student health center, according to the proposed order submitted Feb. 14.

The agreement provides for three “tiers” of relief. Class members who don’t wish to pursue the matter any further will receive an automatic payout under the plan’s first tier. Second- and third-tier class members will fill out claims forms describing their experiences with Tyndall and how they were affected by them. The claims will be evaluated by a three-member panel consisting of a special master, an obstetrician-gynecologist, and a forensic psychiatrist, the proposed order said.

USC also agreed to take numerous steps to prevent on-campus physicians from abusing student-patients in the future.

The university will pay up to $25 million in class counsel’s attorneys’ fees and costs separately, without reducing class members’ recoveries, according to the proposed order.

Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP, Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein LLP, Girard Sharp LLP, Sauder Schelkopf LLC, and Kohn Swift & Graf PC represent the class.

Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP represents USC.

The case is In re USC Student Health Ctr. Litig., C.D. Cal., No. 18-cv-4258, settlement approved 2/14/20.