Hart district board expected Wednesday to consider settling lawsuit over 2019 Saugus High shooting
A proposed $10 million settlement of a lawsuit over the 2019 Saugus High School shooting is expected to be presented to the William S. Hart Union High School District board of trustees in closed session on Wednesday, according to multiple sources familiar with the settlement talks.
The item on the closed session agenda indicates the board will consult with legal counsel regarding the lawsuit brought forth by the parents of Gracie Anne Muehlberger, 15, and Dominic Michael Blackwell, 14, the two students who were killed by the shooter, a 16-year-old Saugus High School student who also wounded three others before turning the gun on himself.
The board agenda makes no specific mention of the proposed $10 million settlement, and there’s been no public discussion of a settlement by either side prior to Friday’s posting of the agenda, which is not uncommon. Such discussion is usually confidential while in progress.
In response to a request in November, the district acknowledged it was insured for such an incident up to $50 million.
It could close a yearslong legal battle for the families of Blackwell and Muehlberger, who were shot and killed by Nathaniel Berhow on Nov. 14, 2019, with no clear motive uncovered despite years of sworn depositions and investigations by multiple agencies.
The case appeared headed to trial in September after arguments were made and the trial date set for January by Judge David Cowan in his Beverly Hills Courthouse.
The venue was chosen because it’s one of the few in the county expected to be able to accommodate a trial that was expected to last at least six weeks with hours of testimony for the jury.
Cowan was expected to rule on motions Dec. 19, after both sides, at Cowan’s request, had winnowed the witness list down to 41.
Attorneys for the families and the Hart district argued in court as recently as last month over the admissibility of the shooter’s Department of Child & Family Services records and whether the district should have seen warning signs and intervened, as the plaintiffs alleged.
There also were arguments made over the degree of liability for Berhow’s mother, who reported not knowing there were guns in the house despite reports numerous weapons being found.
Berhow used a homemade ghost gun in the shooting, with the parts seller also believed to be a target on the liability form.
It’s unclear how an approved settlement might change their potential liability at this time.
The plaintiffs previously indicated plans to call as witnesses the other teens who were shot, and school-security experts to talk about the efficacy of school resource officers, the standard of care and the post-shooting risk assessment.
There were four Sheriff’s Department experts expected to be called upon to testify, including longtime local Detective Dan Finn, who was off-duty at the time of the shooting but later received the Medal of Valor from Sheriff Robert Luna for his bravery in the response.
In its defense, the Hart district was expected to call three campus supervisors, including a staff member who was on duty at the time of the shooting, and the district’s director of technology, on its witness list.
There were also several school and district officials, including the former principal, expected to speak toward support services for students and additional safety protocols.
There were also social workers on the list for the defense, but the settlement could avoid a lot of testimony expected to be painful for both sides.
