Southern California district ordered to pay $45 million in abuse case

The Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District was ordered by a jury to pay $45 million to the family of autistic twins who were physically abused by an aide at a Malibu elementary school in the district, according to the Santa Monica Daily Press.

A lawsuit filed in 2019 alleged that Galit Gottlieb, an employee at Juan Cabrillo Elementary School, physically restrained and abused the two second graders. A Los Angeles Superior Court ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, who included and Charles and Nadine Wong and their two sons, according to the newspaper.

“District administrators failed the twins by allowing them to be abused for months despite clear warnings they were being harmed,” the family’s attorney, David German, said in a statement, according to the Daily Press. “Even now, they refuse to acknowledge the extent of the harm their employee caused. Fortunately, the jury saw through their continued attempt to cover up what occurred.”

Ben Drati, superintendent of the district, said in a statement to the newspaper that the ruling was “not justified.”

“We are working with our legal team to explore options to respond to what we believe to be a verdict that was not justified by the evidence presented,” Drati said.