-- Taylor & Ring is proud to announce that it has secured a $25.3 million jury verdict against the Westerly School of Long Branch and Scott Durzo, a former employee, for the sexual abuse of the firm’s client Stephen W. Partner John Taylor and associate Natalie Weatherford were lead counsel for the plaintiff.
“What happened to our client was a horrific tragedy,” said founding partner John Taylor. “Westerly made one mistake after another, and allowed our client to suffer at the hands of a predator. The jury worked hard to reach this verdict, and made the right call. Both Durzo and Westerly must be held accountable for these heinous acts and the roles they played in trying to destroy a young man’s life.”
The jury awarded Stephen W. $10 million for past pain and suffering, $15 million for future pain and suffering, and $300,000 for any future medical care he may need. Scott Durzo has been ordered to pay $16.4 million, or 65%, of the award; the Westerly School is responsible for $8.9 million, or 35% of the award.
Scott Durzo is now awaiting trial for 20 felony counts of child molestation.
A history of abuse left unchecked
Stephen met Durzo in 2000, when he attended Durzo’s summer sports camp. No incidents were reported at that time.
In 2005, Stephen was 13-years-old, and was hired by Durzo as an assistant counselor for his summer sports camp. Durzo started “grooming” Stephen during this time, and by 2008/2009 (the school year in which Westerly hired Durzo to run their after-school program, and when Stephen was hired as a recess supervisor for the school) Durzo was sexually abusing the boy on a daily basis.
Westerly, after hiring Stephen, allowed him to complete his homework on their campus, use the school’s resources, and attend PE classes to fulfill that requirement. As the complaint explains, “Even though Stephen was not a tuition paying student at Westerly, the Westerly staff and administration accepted him onto the campus for the entirety of the school day and treated him as one of their students.”
A former employee, Rodaina Moncaya, suspected abuse, but chose not to report her suspicions even though her position at the school made her a mandated reporter. According to the complaint, Moncaya was never given an explanation about her role as a mandated reporter; so, even though she signed the paperwork, she did not understand what her role was, or what her responsibilities were. In 2008, she was fired by Durzo, a move which was supported by principal Tim Johnson.
But a storm was brewing. Another teacher, Lorelai Estrada, made numerous complaints about Durzo, saying she didn’t feel safe around him. At one point, the principal had to physically intervene when Durzo tried to physically attack Estrada after a minor disagreement, yet Durzo was never disciplined for his actions. In the meantime, parents started complaining about Stephen being too young to work in the after-school program run by Durzo, and about Durzo’s repeated attempts (and successes) to take their children off-campus without their permission. Durzo was never reported for any of these incidents; he simply wasn’t rehired at Westerly after the 2009/2010 school year.
In 2014 – after years of battling with drug and alcohol abuse, and two suicide attempts – Stephen told his father what had happened. His father reported Durzo to the Seal Beach Police Department. Durzo confessed to the crimes and was arrested.
Upon hearing about Durzo’s arrest, Estrada claims (in her deposition) that she walked into the school the next day and said “I told you so.” When asked what that meant, she testified “That [Durzo] should not have been on campus, that he was a red flag, he was unprofessional, and nobody listened to me. And we – we knew this was going to happen.”
The jury reached a decision after 3-week trial and 6 hours of deliberation.
Taylor & Ring is an award-winning law firm serving clients in Los Angeles and throughout Southern California. The attorneys primarily focus their practice on:
• Sexual assault and abuse
• Sexual harassment
• Child injury
• Catastrophic personal injury
• Police Excessive Force
• Motor vehicle accidents
Contact Info:
Name: David Ring
Email: Send Email
Organization: Taylor & Ring
Address: 12400 Wilshire Blvd, 4th Floor, Los Angeles, CA 90025
Phone: (310) 776-6390
Website: https://www.taylorring.com
Release ID: 358471
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