$2 Million Settlement in Rape Case Bodes Well for New Firm
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By Joan Osterwalder MTA Admits Full Negligence in Bus Driver's Sexual Assault on Passenger David M. Ring of Taylor & Ring didn't take a single deposition in pursuing a sexual assault and negligence lawsuit against the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Even so, MTA admitted 100 percent fault right before trial and later settled for $1.95 million, Ring says. "That's very unusual," he says. "Usually, the plaintiff has to prove the MTA was negligent." Ring's client, Erica Burbank, was raped by an MTA bus driver, who was convicted criminally for the sexual assault and is serving an eight-year prison term. Erica Burbank v. Los Angeles County MTA, KC035498, (Los Angeles Super. Ct., settled May 24, 2002). The win was even more satisfying because it came shortly after Ring joined John C. Taylor, formerly of Greene, Broillett, Taylor, Wheeler & Panish, to found the firm Taylor & Ring in February. "This is our first big win," Ring says. "We expect it to be the first of many." Ring says the MTA settled the case because the bus driver, Leonard Howell, 57, had a long history of complaints in his personnel file and a prior civil verdict against him. "They knew they would get killed on the liability portion at trial," Ring says. "They knew that a jury would award her a substantial amount of money." In 1991, a jury found Howell liable in a civil trial for the rape of another female passenger and found the Southern California Rapid Transit District, the MTA's predecessor, liable for negligent supervision, according to Ring. That victim was awarded $650,000, he says. In 1997, the MTA fired Howell for gross misconduct and insubordination after a confrontation Howell had with a supervisor, Ring says. Howell filed a grievance through his union, and, on the eve of the arbitration hearing in 1999, the MTA voluntarily agreed to reinstate him, Ring says. Burbank argued that the MTA, as a common carrier, was liable for Howell's sexual assault of a passenger. The plaintiff also contended that the MTA was negligent in its supervision and employment of Howell. Steven Carnevale, assistant county counsel, didn't dispute the MTA's liability. "There's no way to try to argue what a rape is worth," Carnevale says. "Where a jury comes out on that is anyone's guess." Carnevale says he cannot explain why Howell wasn't fired after the civil verdict because records dating back to the early 1990s were no longer available. "The MTA responsibility was a tough one to win, given the prior incidents," Carnevale says. "Damages could have been anything." Last year, Howell was convicted criminally for the rape of Burbank on Aug. 14, 2000, in Pomona. Burbank had just started a new job as a dispatcher for a security company but left work early that day because she had the flu, according to Ring. Howell allegedly approached Burbank as she was looking for her transfer bus. He told her to get on his bus, Ring says. After Howell got some cold medication and water for Burbank, she fell asleep, Ring says. She awoke to find herself undressed and Howell on top of her, according to the attorney. "It really had a huge impact on her psychological condition," says Ring, who has handled several sexual abuse cases over the years. The 28-year-old San Dimas resident suffered from severe depression, lost her job, covered her windows with black paper and wouldn't leave her home, Ring says. She even tried to commit suicide, he says. "These types of cases are very emotional; there's a lot of sensitive issues in them," Ring says. "These cases cannot be handled like your typical auto case." The 37-year-old attorney said his biggest win was a $10 million verdict in a child molestation case in 1996, which he litigated with lead counsel Patrick McNicholas of McNicholas & McNicholas. Ring was a partner at that law firm, where he worked from 1993 until he left to co-found his own firm with Taylor earlier this year. |
