$243.6 million

From Associated Press: The University of California has agreed to pay $243.6 million* to settle allegations that hundreds of women were sexually abused by a former UCLA gynecologist, lawyers and the university announced Tuesday. The settlement was reached with the assistance of a private mediator after substantial litigation, the parties said in a statement.

Initial news of the settlement that did not include the specific amount had been announced Monday by some of the attorneys representing 203 women who said they were groped or otherwise abused by Dr. James Heaps over a 35-year career. The lawsuit said that the university ignored decades of complaints and deliberately concealed abuse.

“The conduct alleged to have been committed by Heaps is reprehensible and contrary to the University’s values,” a UCLA statement said. “Our first and highest obligation will always be to the communities we serve, and we hope this settlement is one step toward providing healing and closure for the plaintiffs involved.”... 

The lawsuit was one of hundreds filed that allege abuse by Heaps. UCLA settled a similar lawsuit last year for $73 million...**

Full story at https://apnews.com/article/sports-health-education-lawsuits-california-6667332dbea7521d01524ce971a6597b.

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**See http://uclafacultyassociation.blogspot.com/2021/07/73-million.html and

http://uclafacultyassociation.blogspot.com/2021/04/unsettling-news-about-heaps-settlement.html.

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*NOTE: The headline and article in the LA Times says $243.6 million. And, since this blog story was first posted, the AP has changed its number from $246.3 million to $243.6 million.

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-02-08/ucla-pays-243-milion-settlement-to-203-victims-of-gynecologist-heaps.

We live in the digital age, but the order of the digits matters!