K.H. v. Antioch Unified School District, 3:18-cv-07716

Background

K.H., a 14-year-old with a learning disability, alleges staff at the Sierra School (operated by a Catapult Learning subsidiary) physically restrained and slammed him on Dec. 12, 2017, causing a concussion, facial injuries, PTSD, and Major Depressive Disorder.
Claims were asserted against Antioch Unified School District (AUSD) and Catapult (federal and state causes); the court previously granted summary judgment to AUSD on the remaining federal claims.
After litigation and motions, Catapult agreed to pay a $450,000 settlement (solely paid by Catapult).
Counsel initially reported a proposed net recovery to the minor of $218,839.09; the court recalculated after approving costs and fees, directing $239,303.45 to be deposited in a custodial account for the minor.
Plaintiff’s counsel sought $180,000 (40% contingency) in fees and $51,160.91 in costs; the court evaluated fee reasonableness under California law (Probate Code/Rule 7.955) rather than relying solely on Robidoux.

Issues

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the minor settlement net recovery is fair and reasonable	$218,839.09 (and ultimately funds for therapy/education) adequately compensates given physical and psychological injuries and future care needs	Defendants disputed allegations and extent of injury; AUSD investigations found no mistreatment, so trial risk could yield little or no recovery	Approved: Court found the proposed net recovery fair and reasonable given injury severity and significant trial risk of no recovery
Controlling standard for reviewing attorney fees in a minor’s settlement	Counsel argued Robidoux (9th Cir.) requires only review of net amount to minor	Court should apply California law for state claims and minor-protection statutes/rules when settling state claims in federal court	Held: Robidoux inapplicable to evaluation of state-law claims here; California Probate Code and Rule 7.955 govern fee reasonableness
Whether requested 40% contingency fee and $51,160.91 costs are reasonable	Counsel sought 40% ( $180,000 ) and costs, citing lodestar, hours, risk, complexity	Implicitly, the normal benchmark is ~33% absent strong justification; fee must be reasonable under California standards	Held: Court awarded 40% of settlement net of costs ($159,535.64) and reimbursed costs ($51,160.91), finding hours, lodestar, complexity, corporate defense posture, and risk justified increase over 33%
Disbursement and custodial-account terms for minor’s recovery	Requested deposit under California Probate Code with guardian/custodian managing funds for minor’s benefit	No substantive opposition recorded	Held: $239,303.45 deposited into a federally insured custodial account; plaintiff’s father appointed custodian; funds may be spent for minor’s benefit without further court order; half of fees/costs paid immediately, remainder on certification

Key Cases Cited

Robidoux v. Rosengren, 638 F.3d 1177 (9th Cir. 2011) (federal-court rule on assessing net amount to minors in settlements; court limited to federal-claims context)
United Mine Workers v. Gibbs, 383 U.S. 715 (U.S. 1966) (federal courts apply state law to state-law claims in federal proceedings)
Karen Kane Inc. v. Reliance Ins. Co., 202 F.3d 1180 (9th Cir. 2000) (supplemental jurisdiction principles; state law governs state claims)
Ojeda v. Sharp Cabrillo Hosp., 8 Cal. App. 4th 1 (Cal. Ct. App. 1992) (trial courts must approve attorney fees in minor’s settlements)
Goldberg v. Superior Court, 23 Cal. App. 4th 1378 (Cal. Ct. App. 1994) (Probate Code §3601 empowers courts to authorize payment of reasonable fees and costs from a minor’s settlement)
Gonzalez v. Chen, 197 Cal. App. 4th 881 (Cal. Ct. App. 2011) (factors for assessing reasonableness of contingent fees under Rule 7.955)
Rabinovitz v. City of Los Angeles, 287 F. Supp. 3d 933 (C.D. Cal. 2018) (example of approved comparable net recovery in a minor-mistreatment settlement)