USC has agreed to pay more than $ 1.1 billion to former patients of campus gynecologist George Tyndall, the highest payment for sexual abuse in the history of higher education.
The huge sum was revealed Thursday in Los Angeles Superior Court, when lawyers for a final group of 710 women suing the university told a judge that they had settled their claims for $ 852 million.
USC previously agreed to pay thousands of other alumni and students $ 215 million in a 2018 federal class action settlement. A group of about 50 other cases was resolved for an undisclosed amount.
The only full-time gynecologist at the student health clinic from 1989 to 2016, Tyndall was accused of preying on a generation of women at USC. After The Times exposed his troubled history at the university three years ago, the 74-year-old was stripped of his medical license and arrested. He pleaded not guilty to dozens of sexual assault charges and is awaiting trial.
USC President Carol Folt, appointed in 2019 to reform the university after the scandal, said in a letter to the school community that she hoped the deal “would provide some relief to women abused by George Tyndall.”
“I deeply regret the pain experienced by the women who trusted him as a doctor and I thank the courage of all those who came forward,” she wrote.
The USC agreement overcomes recent payments in other university scandals. Michigan State University paid $ 500 million in connection with Larry Nasser’s sexual abuse of gymnasts and others, while Penn State settled claims related to Jerry Sandusky’s sexual abuse for more than $ 109 million.
Two mediators, Jeffrey Krivis and Superior Court Judge Daniel Buckley, who reviewed the evidence recommended $ 852 million. The USC Board of Trustees unanimously approved the amount, according to President Rick Caruso.
The total price of $ 1.1 billion reflected several factors. A 2019 state law, supported by former patients and their lawyers, temporarily lifted the statute of limitations for certain sexual assault cases, allowing women to sue for commitments to Tyndall dating back to the 1990s.
The sheer number of potential victims, some 17,000 women treated by Tyndall over three decades, also made a massive deal inevitable.
Beong-Soo Kim University called the large number of accusers involved “the main factor” in the deal’s value.
“If you look at the number per claimant, I think the math is very comparable to the MSU agreement,” said Kim.
The plaintiffs’ lawyers were also armed with evidence that university officials had known for decades about the problems with the doctor and were unable to remove him. Internal personnel files detailed how complaints about Tyndall were mistreated or ignored repeatedly, lapses that led the United States Department of Education to sanction the university last year.
“Institutions don’t pay a billion dollars because nothing happened or they are not responsible,” said John Manly, whose law firm in Orange County was a co-attorney for women who are suing the university. “We were able to prove in court that the USC had known for almost 30 years that Tyndall was assaulting patients.”
A few years after Tyndall’s arrival, the clinic’s supervisors learned from a patient and colleagues that the doctor was taking pictures of the students’ genitals, an investigation by the 2018 Times found. Photos were later found in his personal storage unit and in your office.
The nursing “companions” who monitored his pelvic exams complained that he used a curtain to obscure his vision. The students told clinic staff that he asked lewd questions about their sex lives and suggestive comments about their bodies. The nursing staff reported for years that he touched students inappropriately during vaginal exams, with at least one co-worker threatening to go to the police.
Only after a frustrated nurse, Cindy Gilbert, reported Tyndall’s misconduct to the campus rape crisis center in 2016, did the USC suspend him and launch an internal investigation. Tyndall was allowed to discreetly resign with a payment the following year, and the USC never alerted the California Medical Council until the Times began contacting the USC team about him.
Caruso, the billionaire developer who was elected shortly after the Tyndall scandal broke, acknowledged the institutional flaws in a letter to the community that described the deal as “the end of a painful and ugly chapter in our university’s history”.
“Our institution fell short because it did not do everything it could to protect those who matter most to us – our students,” wrote Caruso.
The $ 852 million deal will be paid in two years. USC said the money will come from the insurance proceeds, as well as financial reserves, the postponement of capital projects, the sale of some “non-essential assets” and the tightening of the belt.
“No philanthropic gifts, donation funds or tuition will be redirected from their intended purposes,” Folt wrote in his letter to the community.
In an interview, she said she anticipated “difficult choices” in the coming years, noting that the USC already has a budget deficit of $ 200 million due to the pandemic. Folt said administrators would review planned improvement projects and seek savings in discretionary spending, such as travel and entertainment.
“There is nothing critical that is not going to happen at USC because of this,” said Caruso. “The student’s experience and the quality of education will not be affected.”
The 710 women who made up the deal on Thursday will receive an average payment of $ 1.2 million, although the exact distribution of the money will vary according to individual claims and will ultimately be determined by an arbitrator in the United States. the next few months.
Former USC student Nicole Haynes, 46, was one of the women. She said Tyndall did an unnecessary pelvic exam on her in 1995, after she sought treatment for food poisoning. The incident left her feeling violated, she said, and she applauded the deal as a way to hold the university accountable.
“I am an obstinate Trojan and I have been putting this in my daughters’ heads as well, but I did not feel comfortable sending her there after that,” said Haynes. “Pay a billion dollars and start acting together. All other universities, if you don’t want to pay a billion dollars, organize your actions too. “
The way the university dealt with Tyndall sparked outrage on campus and led to the dismissal of President CL Max Nikias. Although he made several apologies, Nikias was adamant that he only learned of the charges against the gynecologist in 2017, long after Tyndall’s departure.
During the last few years of litigation, several USC leaders were ousted, including Nikias’ deputy, former dean Michael Quick, several nurses and medical staff, 15 former patients, Caruso and Tyndall himself.
The university hired at least three law firms to defend lawsuits in state and federal courts, and the USC’s legion of lawyers used to oppose the release of confidential internal files, including e-mails between administrators, separation agreements with former administrators. and correspondence with your crisis communication company. The cost of USC’s legal defense is separate from the agreements and runs around tens of millions of dollars, according to the university’s general council.
Lawyers for Tyndall’s patients planned to interrogate Nikias under oath this winter, but the testimony appeared to have been postponed and, in the end, he did not have to sit down to ask questions.
Nikias remains a faculty member and a non-voting curator. He has an office on campus as president emeritus.
Asked whether the university was reviewing its status in light of the agreement, Caruso said the terms of Nikias’ original contract limited what the USC could do.
“I think this is a time when Max really has to reflect on what is best for the university, what is best for students and make a decision for himself,” said Caruso. “I think the answer to that is clear, but I think it’s up to him to answer.”
Thursday’s state court agreement comes at a time when former patients who have joined the federal class action lawsuit are receiving notifications of their individual payments. In the process, USC agreed to pay $ 2,500 to each patient who attended Tyndall, regardless of whether they were accused of misconduct.
Patients were eligible to receive payments of up to $ 250,000 after attending interviews to describe Tyndall’s conduct and impact on their lives, although the average payout among this group of patients was $ 96,330, according to court documents. this week.
In announcing the deal, university officials observed the reforms instituted after Tyndall’s tenure. The student health center is now run by Keck Medicine, the university’s medical school and healthcare system. The clinic where Tyndall practiced employs more female gynecologists and the rape crisis center, the Relationship and Sexual Violence Prevention Program, which received the nurse’s complaint against the doctor, added 10 full-time employees.