LAMB Sued for $20M by 2 families of sexual abuse victims

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a LAMB parent, I am horrified by the negligence that occurred under the leadership of Diane C and Cristina E. At the same time, I can see how their judgment was clouded by personal relationships and inexperience with child molesters. That is why they should have had better protective policies in place, which they didn't. Again, negligence. It's awful. I feel so horrible for the victim families.

But to add to already strong emotions on the topic, I am now a little bit angry at the individuals who are suing the school. I realize that something horrible and unimaginably traumatic happened to their kids. It is awful.

But LAMB as an institution does so much good for the children that it serves in Washington DC. Why insist on suing for so much money that the school might go bankrupt and stop all of the good work that it does? (Recognizing again, that the school was a nightmare experience for those families).

I have no ill will at all toward the families filing. Because I understand that they will not receive this amount, what they receive will be from insurance, and will not bring down the school by fact of this lawsuit (or shouldn't). And they do deserve some compensation.

But I do have ill will now toward a lot of people on this thread who seem to be gleefully hoping the school closes down.

I have ill will towards all institutions who are complicit in and support the abuse of children, or anyone. I will own that. Because the children, not you, were the victims. For the record I also harbor ill will towards the Catholic Church, the board of the Weinstein Companies, Roger Ailes and the board at Fox, and every other institution that sat back or enabled abuse and crimes. But thanks to people like you and the genius who is mad at the families suing, now I'm wondering if the LAMB community should be indicted along with the board and administration. If you and your little friend are any indication, maybe so.

And yet if the school shuts down, won't it be children who lose out? Also, please explain how hoping the school does not shut down makes me a target of your negative assessment of the LAMB community.

And yet if the school shuts down, won't it be children who lose out?

That is a slippery slope you are on my friend. Lots of rapists and molesters also do good works. Sure, they victimized children and those children suffered for years and will be saddled with the after effects for years to come, but look at all the charity work he/she did. What's one victim against all of that good? You know what we should do? We should create a formula for how much abuse you can foist on a child against what kind of good you also do. You start. How much to molest a kid? Is a monetary donation enough or must they also have foundation to actually administer the good. Propose a formula.

Also, please explain how hoping the school does not shut down makes me a target of your negative assessment of the LAMB community.

Strangely I wasn't actually sure if I was reading more into your post than I should have. Was it fair to loop you in with the other self interested a-hole? And then you replied and put my mind at ease. What I reacted to (that you subsequently confirmed) was the phrase that you are ok with the suit because they won't get as much as they are requesting. How much to diddle your son/daughter? Seriously. Over the clothes? Under the outerwear but over the underwear? What if it was only once? Or only over a school year? Or what if your elementary school kid seemed to like it? What if your kid was abused but they didn't have to see the abuser again every day after it was exposed? How much of a multiplier if your abused kid then had to go back to school and see their abuser again?

Your post imputed a level of greed in the complaint. According to the complaint the administration let it happen, ignored warnings, hid the investigation, let him come back and repeated the abuse. Then they lied to the community about it. But for their actions his reign of terror would have ended after the first suspension.

So, yeah, I'm ok looping you in with the first poster.

P.S. If you want to extend your "greater good" argument I would suggest to you that the lawsuit shuttering LAMB would do more to prevent this from ever happening at any school ever again than would a slap on the wrist or hit to an insurance premium. Surely you would sacrifice the LAMB community for the sake of all school age children across the land, right?

A level of greed is reflected in the $240 million request for damages. But I assume that’s greed on behalf of the lawyers who took the case, not the families.

By way of comparison, the average judgment per plaintiff against various Catholic Church entities was around $1 million, with some cases being worth far less and some more. The allegations in those cases were often far more egregious, with priests having sex with children and then being transferred around, for years and years. And those plaintiffs didn’t get hundreds of millions of dollars in their lawsuits.

Just from a legal standpoint, the request for damages is completely out of the realm of possibility. I agree with what you’re saying, in theory. Putting a price tag on someone molesting my kid is unthinkable. But once you file a lawsuit, that’s exactly what is going to happen, whether it happens in settlement or whether you roll the dice with a jury.

Totally disagree. You warm my child, a trillion dollars isn’t enough. No amount of money is. When these children face the darkness as adults a check won’t cure their hurt. The amount requested is symbolic and to a drop in the bucket. A child’s innocence is priceless. I hope they win a considerable amount. If it shutters LAMB’s doors, so be it. Making these families whole to any degree possible is the priority to me.

[Anonymous]

*harm, *shudders

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a LAMB parent, I am horrified by the negligence that occurred under the leadership of Diane C and Cristina E. At the same time, I can see how their judgment was clouded by personal relationships and inexperience with child molesters. That is why they should have had better protective policies in place, which they didn't. Again, negligence. It's awful. I feel so horrible for the victim families.

But to add to already strong emotions on the topic, I am now a little bit angry at the individuals who are suing the school. I realize that something horrible and unimaginably traumatic happened to their kids. It is awful.

But LAMB as an institution does so much good for the children that it serves in Washington DC. Why insist on suing for so much money that the school might go bankrupt and stop all of the good work that it does? (Recognizing again, that the school was a nightmare experience for those families).

I have no ill will at all toward the families filing. Because I understand that they will not receive this amount, what they receive will be from insurance, and will not bring down the school by fact of this lawsuit (or shouldn't). And they do deserve some compensation.

But I do have ill will now toward a lot of people on this thread who seem to be gleefully hoping the school closes down.

I have ill will towards all institutions who are complicit in and support the abuse of children, or anyone. I will own that. Because the children, not you, were the victims. For the record I also harbor ill will towards the Catholic Church, the board of the Weinstein Companies, Roger Ailes and the board at Fox, and every other institution that sat back or enabled abuse and crimes. But thanks to people like you and the genius who is mad at the families suing, now I'm wondering if the LAMB community should be indicted along with the board and administration. If you and your little friend are any indication, maybe so.

And yet if the school shuts down, won't it be children who lose out? Also, please explain how hoping the school does not shut down makes me a target of your negative assessment of the LAMB community.

And yet if the school shuts down, won't it be children who lose out?

That is a slippery slope you are on my friend. Lots of rapists and molesters also do good works. Sure, they victimized children and those children suffered for years and will be saddled with the after effects for years to come, but look at all the charity work he/she did. What's one victim against all of that good? You know what we should do? We should create a formula for how much abuse you can foist on a child against what kind of good you also do. You start. How much to molest a kid? Is a monetary donation enough or must they also have foundation to actually administer the good. Propose a formula.

Also, please explain how hoping the school does not shut down makes me a target of your negative assessment of the LAMB community.

Strangely I wasn't actually sure if I was reading more into your post than I should have. Was it fair to loop you in with the other self interested a-hole? And then you replied and put my mind at ease. What I reacted to (that you subsequently confirmed) was the phrase that you are ok with the suit because they won't get as much as they are requesting. How much to diddle your son/daughter? Seriously. Over the clothes? Under the outerwear but over the underwear? What if it was only once? Or only over a school year? Or what if your elementary school kid seemed to like it? What if your kid was abused but they didn't have to see the abuser again every day after it was exposed? How much of a multiplier if your abused kid then had to go back to school and see their abuser again?

Your post imputed a level of greed in the complaint. According to the complaint the administration let it happen, ignored warnings, hid the investigation, let him come back and repeated the abuse. Then they lied to the community about it. But for their actions his reign of terror would have ended after the first suspension.

So, yeah, I'm ok looping you in with the first poster.

P.S. If you want to extend your "greater good" argument I would suggest to you that the lawsuit shuttering LAMB would do more to prevent this from ever happening at any school ever again than would a slap on the wrist or hit to an insurance premium. Surely you would sacrifice the LAMB community for the sake of all school age children across the land, right?

A level of greed is reflected in the $240 million request for damages. But I assume that’s greed on behalf of the lawyers who took the case, not the families.

By way of comparison, the average judgment per plaintiff against various Catholic Church entities was around $1 million, with some cases being worth far less and some more. The allegations in those cases were often far more egregious, with priests having sex with children and then being transferred around, for years and years. And those plaintiffs didn’t get hundreds of millions of dollars in their lawsuits.

Just from a legal standpoint, the request for damages is completely out of the realm of possibility. I agree with what you’re saying, in theory. Putting a price tag on someone molesting my kid is unthinkable. But once you file a lawsuit, that’s exactly what is going to happen, whether it happens in settlement or whether you roll the dice with a jury.

Totally disagree. You warm my child, a trillion dollars isn’t enough. No amount of money is. When these children face the darkness as adults a check won’t cure their hurt. The amount requested is symbolic and to a drop in the bucket. A child’s innocence is priceless. I hope they win a considerable amount. If it shutters LAMB’s doors, so be it. Making these families whole to any degree possible is the priority to me.

And you can ask for a trillion dollars. But that doesn’t mean you’re going to get it. That’s not how lawsuits work.

[Anonymous]

Unpopular opinion: I think LAMB should be shut down. Sorry not sorry.

[Anonymous]

Oh man. LAMB still is an ugly place. No wonder they didn’t fire anyone. The admin, board and parents are cut from the same cloth. (Obviously not all parents but definitely admin and board!)

Move along. Nothing to see here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Unpopular opinion: I think LAMB should be shut down. Sorry not sorry.

Because there were bad actor administrators who have since been terminated? Really? Should we shut every school down that has a bad principal?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Unpopular opinion: I think LAMB should be shut down. Sorry not sorry.

Because there were bad actor administrators who have since been terminated? Really? Should we shut every school down that has a bad principal?

We should shut down any school that has turned their head from child abuse. Still sorry not sorry

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Unpopular opinion: I think LAMB should be shut down. Sorry not sorry.

Because there were bad actor administrators who have since been terminated? Really? Should we shut every school down that has a bad principal?

We should shut down any school that has turned their head from child abuse. Still sorry not sorry

A couple bad administrators and one evil teacher aren't LAMB.

I wonder if you'd say such horrible things to my innocent child, who loves LAMB and loves their community.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Unpopular opinion: I think LAMB should be shut down. Sorry not sorry.

Because there were bad actor administrators who have since been terminated? Really? Should we shut every school down that has a bad principal?

We should shut down any school that has turned their head from child abuse. Still sorry not sorry

A couple bad administrators and one evil teacher aren't LAMB.

I wonder if you'd say such horrible things to my innocent child, who loves LAMB and loves their community.

+1

It’s sad to see people who would wish ill on innocent children, many of whom are poor and have a unique opportunity to get a good education at LAMB.

[Anonymous]

It seems that the last thing anyone should be worried about is this non-profit school closing because of a lawsuit. A quick glance at the 2015 and 2014 budgets for LAMB suggests that the school's finances are not structured in such a way that a lawsuit could touch the bulk of their operating expenses. In 2015, about $7.3 million of the schools $7.5 million budget came from revenue sources that cannot be touched by a lawsuit -- the DC per capita student money, after school care fees, and federal grants. (See page 6 of this document-- http://www.dcpcsb.org/sites/default/files/report/FY15%20Audited%20Financial%20Statements%20-%20LAMB.pdf)

So long as the DC govt doesn't close the school, which it wouldn't given the shrieks of anguish they'd have to deal with from the 350 students' parents, the school will continue to receive almost all of its usual revenue regardless of how the lawsuit turns out, which means they wouldn't be forced to close for financial reasons. Sure, they may have to tighten their belts if enough donors and others decide they aren't interested in being associated with the school anymore and cut back on donations. And their insurance premium will likely go up after this. But they have an untouchable and steady revenue stream, so they aren't going to close even if there is a judgement for many millions of dollars.

Typically what happens when a jury awards a plaintiff more than the defendant can pay is that the court places something akin to a lien against future assets. In theory, if a billionaire gave the school $100 million in unrestricted funds down the line, the plaintiffs could go after that money in an effort to satisfy their jury award claim. But no donor would ever give a non-profit money in that way, assuming they aren't total idiots.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Unpopular opinion: I think LAMB should be shut down. Sorry not sorry.

Because there were bad actor administrators who have since been terminated? Really? Should we shut every school down that has a bad principal?

We should shut down any school that has turned their head from child abuse. Still sorry not sorry

A couple bad administrators and one evil teacher aren't LAMB.

I wonder if you'd say such horrible things to my innocent child, who loves LAMB and loves their community.

I don’t believe that LAMB should be closed. Nor do I think that it will be regardless of the outcome of this lawsuit. I do find it ridiculous though that it is out of the realm of possibility given the atrocities committed. Remember that the Community Academy was accused of having a bad contract with its founder that the board allowed and they were deemed to be bad stewards. The school was shuttered. LAMB had bad actors who allowed children to be unsafe and abused. Alleged financial malfeasance results in closure. Actual child abuse that resulted from gross negligence does not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It seems that the last thing anyone should be worried about is this non-profit school closing because of a lawsuit. A quick glance at the 2015 and 2014 budgets for LAMB suggests that the school's finances are not structured in such a way that a lawsuit could touch the bulk of their operating expenses. In 2015, about $7.3 million of the schools $7.5 million budget came from revenue sources that cannot be touched by a lawsuit -- the DC per capita student money, after school care fees, and federal grants. (See page 6 of this document-- http://www.dcpcsb.org/sites/default/files/report/FY15%20Audited%20Financial%20Statements%20-%20LAMB.pdf)

So long as the DC govt doesn't close the school, which it wouldn't given the shrieks of anguish they'd have to deal with from the 350 students' parents, the school will continue to receive almost all of its usual revenue regardless of how the lawsuit turns out, which means they wouldn't be forced to close for financial reasons. Sure, they may have to tighten their belts if enough donors and others decide they aren't interested in being associated with the school anymore and cut back on donations. And their insurance premium will likely go up after this. But they have an untouchable and steady revenue stream, so they aren't going to close even if there is a judgement for many millions of dollars.

Typically what happens when a jury awards a plaintiff more than the defendant can pay is that the court places something akin to a lien against future assets. In theory, if a billionaire gave the school $100 million in unrestricted funds down the line, the plaintiffs could go after that money in an effort to satisfy their jury award claim. But no donor would ever give a non-profit money in that way, assuming they aren't total idiots.

Thanks for being a voice of sanity. Sincerely.

[Anonymous]

21:46 makes a really good point about what we, as a city/district value when it comes to our kids. WTH does the DC Charter School Board not count the physical and emotional safety of children in its assessment of a school's performance?!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:21:46 makes a really good point about what we, as a city/district value when it comes to our kids. WTH does the DC Charter School Board not count the physical and emotional safety of children in its assessment of a school's performance?!

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Unpopular opinion: I think LAMB should be shut down. Sorry not sorry.

Because there were bad actor administrators who have since been terminated? Really? Should we shut every school down that has a bad principal?

We should shut down any school that has turned their head from child abuse. Still sorry not sorry

A couple bad administrators and one evil teacher aren't LAMB.

I wonder if you'd say such horrible things to my innocent child, who loves LAMB and loves their community.

I'm sorry...did you really just type that? Your poor innocent child is harmed by people who are disgusted with LAMB? That's not harm you self centered nitwit. But, sure. Bring your kid over here and I'll tell them what happened when the kids were molested, how the admin did nothing to stop it or prevent future occurrences, forced the victims to go back to the same teacher, tried to create a culture of fear of silence and then had parents like you defend the school because it is really hard on you that kids got molested. Bring them here!!!