• Penn State to pay $59.7 million to settle Sandusky sex abuse claims
    12 replies, posted
[url]http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/10/28/21213413-penn-state-to-pay-597-million-to-settle-sandusky-sex-abuse-claims?lite[/url] [QUOTE]Penn State announced Monday it will pay $59.7 million to settle claims by 26 young men who said they were sexually abused by former assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky, capping a year of negotiations. News of some of the settlements has been trickling out in recent months. The university said six claims are still outstanding. It has rejected some of them and is in talks to settle the others. “We hope this is another step forward in the healing process for those hurt by Mr. Sandusky, and another step forward for Penn State,” University President Rodney Erickson said in a statement. “We cannot undo what has been done, but we can and must do everything possible to learn from this and ensure it never happens again at Penn State.” Sandusky, 69, is serving 30 to 60 years in prison after being convicted of 45 counts of child sexual abuse last year. He is appealing. During the trial, jurors heard from eight victims, who described how Sandusky lavished them with gifts, trips and attention before molesting them.[/QUOTE] Just paying them off.
A few million would be fine by me.
[QUOTE=Rangergxi;42676477][url]http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/10/28/21213413-penn-state-to-pay-597-million-to-settle-sandusky-sex-abuse-claims?lite[/url] Just paying them off.[/QUOTE] well i mean what else is to be done at this point
When I first heard about Penn. state, I thought it was a joke Uni name because backwards, its "State Pen." Then I found out it was real and saw how fitting it was. [editline]28th October 2013[/editline] (Or would have been.)
[QUOTE=Rangergxi;42676477] Just paying them off. [/QUOTE] What else can be done? You make it seem like it is a bad thing to do.
[QUOTE=Splash Attack;42677327]When I first heard about Penn. state, I thought it was a joke Uni name because backwards, its "State Pen." Then I found out it was real and saw how fitting it was. [editline]28th October 2013[/editline] (Or would have been.)[/QUOTE] i mean that's kind of stretching it to go from Pennsylvania State University -> Penn State -> State Pen. forcing it bruh
Less than $60 million in exchange for dismissing these cases? Whoever the lawyers were for these families, they need to be fired. They're either bribed or too damn stupid to practice law, but either way they aren't representing the interests of the clients they had.
[QUOTE=Rangergxi;42676477]Just paying them off.[/QUOTE] this isn't really "just paying them off." I've worked in a mediation center - the type of places where these settlements are reached. helped clients from small claims, divorce cases, property cases, all the way up to high level corporate issues that ranged in the settlements of millions of dollars. it's made clear to both parties that if they want to pursue their action in court, they may. in most cases, especially ones like this, many people don't want to go through that. you've got 26 victims - that's 26 testimonies that must be heard, along with the defense, cross examination, etc. That's going to take [I]years[/I] to be handled completely, in which time, the plaintiffs will be exposed to horrendous mental anguish at being forced to relive their abuse and trauma day after day, and be completely inconvenienced by being forced to go to court. court takes a long time - they'd have to take off work, and be put out for transportation, etc. in settlements like this, people tend to get what they want. neither party leaves a mediation happy, but they leave them satisfied because they get what they most value out of the deal 9 times out of 10 [editline]28th October 2013[/editline] [QUOTE=Turtler;42681820]Less than $60 million in exchange for dismissing these cases? Whoever the lawyers were for these families, they need to be fired. They're either bribed or too damn stupid to practice law, but either way they aren't representing the interests of the clients they had.[/QUOTE] no
[QUOTE=BrickInHead;42681882]this isn't really "just paying them off." I've worked in a mediation center - the type of places where these settlements are reached. helped clients from small claims, divorce cases, property cases, all the way up to high level corporate issues that ranged in the settlements of millions of dollars. it's made clear to both parties that if they want to pursue their action in court, they may. in most cases, especially ones like this, many people don't want to go through that. you've got 26 victims - that's 26 testimonies that must be heard, along with the defense, cross examination, etc. That's going to take [I]years[/I] to be handled completely, in which time, the plaintiffs will be exposed to horrendous mental anguish at being forced to relive their abuse and trauma day after day, and be completely inconvenienced by being forced to go to court. court takes a long time - they'd have to take off work, and be put out for transportation, etc. in settlements like this, people tend to get what they want. neither party leaves a mediation happy, but they leave them satisfied because they get what they most value out of the deal 9 times out of 10 [editline]28th October 2013[/editline] no[/QUOTE] I'm not sure this is one of those simple "No" responses; the importance of keeping the victims out of court isn't something I deny. But the problem- as my dad the corporate lawyer flatout said- is that often times that's used against the plaintiffs to get a horrendously unfair or unbalanced settlement. When one side is suffering from mental anguish it is easy to take advantage of them at arbitration. If nothing else, the fine sum tells me that the lawyers didn't press Penn State hard enough. Given Penn State's resources, how utterly toxic the Sandusky case is, and how Penn State wouldn't have a chance in hell in a drawn out trial, the sum from a halfway competent negotiation pressing on the Plaintiff's advantages should've been considerably more.
[QUOTE=Turtler;42681948]I'm not sure this is one of those simple "No" responses; the importance of keeping the victims out of court isn't something I deny. But the problem- as my dad the corporate lawyer flatout said- is that often times that's used against the plaintiffs to get a horrendously unfair or unbalanced settlement. When one side is suffering from mental anguish it is easy to take advantage of them at arbitration. If nothing else, the fine sum tells me that the lawyers didn't press Penn State hard enough. Given Penn State's resources, how utterly toxic the Sandusky case is, and how Penn State wouldn't have a chance in hell in a drawn out trial, the sum from a halfway competent negotiation pressing on the Plaintiff's advantages should've been considerably more.[/QUOTE] yeah 60 million may be a small sum to the university given the nature of the case and their operating budget, but that's not really what mediation is about. that's what lawyers think mediation is about - no offense to your father, of course. lawyers first and foremost are taught the courtroom style of decisionmaking which is effectively a zero-sum game that is competitive in nature. mediation is a client focused process that focuses on creating a settlement that's good for both parties. i don't have access to the transcripts of this case, but i can tell you from personal experience that 75-80% of lawyers basically foam at the mouth in negotiations vehemently fighting for their clients in a way that's destructive to the mediation process, because that's exactly what works in arbitration. [editline]28th October 2013[/editline] going in to my position i really used to feel the same way, and that danger still definitely exists with a lot of corporate entities - however if i saw a settlement of 10 million over 26 plaintiffs then i'd definitely agree, but a 2million / plaintiff is a reasonable sum to me and given my experiences in mediating disputes
[QUOTE=BrickInHead;42682050]yeah 60 million may be a small sum to the university given the nature of the case and their operating budget, but that's not really what mediation is about. that's what lawyers think mediation is about - no offense to your father, of course. lawyers first and foremost are taught the courtroom style of decisionmaking which is effectively a zero-sum game that is competitive in nature. mediation is a client focused process that focuses on creating a settlement that's good for both parties. i don't have access to the transcripts of this case, but i can tell you from personal experience that 75-80% of lawyers basically foam at the mouth in negotiations vehemently fighting for their clients in a way that's destructive to the mediation process, because that's exactly what works in arbitration.[/QUOTE] No offense taken, though I'd also argue that's largely the ideal of mediation is as well, similar to how court cases and arbitration also have their ideals. Those definitely come into play as well, but there's also the fact that mediation tends to benefit the party with the weaker case, especially when the party with the stronger case is dealing with these kinds of mental injuries. That's just the way it tends to work. The climate means it is conductive to relatively mild settlements, and the fact that it's nonbinding and could see one party pull out and take it to court puts pressure on the one with the weaker case to jam it in to avoid something worse. While of course mental anguish and trauma means that the aggrieved just want to get it over with and have something for their troubles. The very nature of it being primarily conciliatory and trying to live along to get along helps put pressure on both sides to come to some kind of agreement in that climate; that's not a flaw in the process because that's exactly why it has its' place. But that doesn't mean solutions like this don't smell at least somewhat of screwiness. Especially given the sheer disparity between the two cases. It's definitely not as unfair as some cases I've heard of, but it's still eyebrow raising. I imagine the transcripts will make interesting readings when the time comes.
[QUOTE=Rangergxi;42676477][url]http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/10/28/21213413-penn-state-to-pay-597-million-to-settle-sandusky-sex-abuse-claims?lite[/url] Just paying them off.[/QUOTE] Yeah the guy got 30-60 years what the fuck are they supposed to do?
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