A.B. et al. v. Regents of the University of California

Case Synopsis

The firm was involved in obtaining the $243.6 million settlement on behalf of more than 200 survivors of sexual misconduct committed by disgraced UCLA gynecologist James Heaps. These women were sexually abused by the former OBGYN, according to the mass action complaint filed in 2020. The incidents of abuse occurred from 1983 to 2018. The settlement averages $1.2 million per plaintiff. Heaps currently faces 21 felony counts involving his female patients, and he faces 67 years in prison if convicted of all charges. Hundreds of women have come forward to accuse Heaps of since his 2019 arrest, and the UC system acknowledged that its staff received complaints about Heaps dating back to the 1990s. There was an official investigation in 2017, but despite the investigation, Heaps did not leave the university of a year, and UCLA made no public statements about Heaps’ conduct. The mass action settlement is in stark contrast to the $73 million class action settlement which involved more than 5,000 patients.