LAUSD sues insurers for denying coverage for alleged sexual abuse

Lina Portman1 week ago

0 1 minute read

The Los Angeles Unified School District is suing several insurance companies for allegedly failing to defend and compensate the district for more than 60 sexual abuse lawsuits filed under a 2019 law that allowed alleged victims to overcome the statute of limitations.

The lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court names as defendants Aetna Insurance Co.; Central National Insurance Co. of Omaha; Cravens, Dargan & Co., Pacific Coast; Pacific Indemnity Co.; and Providence Washington Insurance Co. Representatives for Aetna and Central National Insurance did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the breach of contract lawsuit filed Wednesday.

In October 2019, Governor Gavin Newsom signed AB 218 into law, which created a three-year statute of limitations allowing adult victims who were abused as minors to bring civil sexual abuse lawsuits that were previously barred by the statute of limitations.

The bill's passage “has resulted in a flood of litigation against LAUSD, as Plaintiffs have alleged and continue to assert, claims against the District involving allegations of sexual assault, abuse, and/or childhood sexual assault…” the lawsuit states.

Each of the 61 underlying lawsuits was filed by victims of alleged childhood sexual abuse, allegedly by an LAUSD employee or someone affiliated with the district, according to the suit, which further states that the insurance policies at issue were purchased by LAUSD in the 1950s, 1960s and early to mid-1970s.

For the most part, the insurance companies “avoided their contractual responsibilities to defend and indemnify the District against negligence claims asserted in these alleged sexual abuse cases, choosing instead to abandon the LAUSD and remain on the touches…”, the lawsuit states.