Audit of $4-billion abuse settlement urged

Lawmakers and labor leaders demand action after Times finds plaintiffs who say they were paid to sue L.A. County

- By REBECCA ELLIS

AL SEIB For The Times COUNTY Supervisor Janice Hahn said any attorney guilty of paying for plaintiffs "should be disbarred."

California lawmakers, local officials and labor leaders are demanding an audit of Los Angeles County’s historic $4-billion sex abuse settlement as well as a State Bar investigation into a law firm that represents thousands of alleged victims.

The call follows a Los Angeles Times investigation that revealed some plaintiffs in the largest sex abuse settlement in U.S. history said vendors paid them cash to sue the county, with two telling The Times that vendors instructed them to fabricate the claims. All of the plaintiffs in the report had lawsuits filed by Downtown LA Law Group, or DTLA, a personal injury firm with more than 2,700 cases in the settlement.

DTLA denied it had any involvement with vendors, who some plaintiffs said paid them to file suit, and The Times could not reach the vendors for comment.

A majority of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors expressed outrage.

“I'm disgusted,” said Supervisor Kathryn Barger, the chair of the board, which approved the settlement this April. “It is appalling that dishonest lawyers and individuals would exploit reforms that were meant to deliver justice to survivors of abuse. ... I am calling for a full investigation into these allegations.”"

DTLA has categorically denied paying people to sue and said no representative of the firm had been authorized to make payments. The firm said it has hired a “third-party neutral” to determine whether any false claims had been filed.

“The allegations in this story are extremely concerning and describe conduct that is contrary to our firm’s values,” read the statement. “While we do not believe they are accurate, we are taking them seriously.'