I.F. et al v. City of Vallejo et al

Filing 71

ORDER APPROVING MINOR'S COMPROMISE signed by United States Magistrate Judge Laurel Beeler on October 3, 2020. (Kaminski, H)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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San Francisco Division

United States District Court
Northern District of California

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I.F., et al.,
Plaintiffs,

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v.

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CITY OF VALLEJO, et al.,
Defendants.

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N.D. Cal Case No. 20-mc-80075-LB
E.D. Cal. Case No. 2:18-cv-00673-JAM
ORDER APPROVING MINOR’S
COMPROMISE
Re: ECF No. 14

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INTRODUCTION

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This is a civil-rights and wrongful-death case arising from the death of plaintiff R.F.’s father,

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Ronell Foster, who was shot and killed by a Vallejo police officer in February 2018.1 Plaintiff

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R.F., by and through his mother, settled R.F.’s claims following a day-long settlement conference

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with the undersigned.2 After the settlement, the parties consented to the undersigned’s exercise of

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jurisdiction for all purposes concerning the settlement.3 Counsel for R.F. filed an unopposed

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I.F. v. City of Vallejo, 2:18-cv-00673-JAM-CKD (E.D. Cal.), First Am. Compl. – ECF No. 8.
Citations refer to material in the Electronic Case File (“ECF”); pinpoint citations are to the ECFgenerated page numbers at the top of documents.

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Mot. to Approve Minor’s Compromise – ECF No. 14 at 2. The motion to approve minor’s
compromise is for plaintiff R.F. only. Id.

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McMahon Consent – ECF No. 12; I.F. v. City of Vallejo, 2:18-cv-00673-JAM (E.D. Cal.),
Stipulation and Order – ECF No. 65.

ORDER – N.D. Cal. Case No. 20-mc-80075-LB, E.D. Cal. Case No. 2:18-cv-00673-JAM 

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motion to approve a minor’s compromise.4 The court can decide the motion without oral

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argument, see N.D. Cal. Civ. L.R. 7-1(b), and grants the motion.

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ANALYSIS

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“District courts have a special duty, derived from Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 17(c), to

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safeguard the interests of litigants who are minors.” Robidoux v. Rosengren, 638 F.3d 1177, 1181

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(9th Cir. 2011). “Rule 17(c) provides, in relevant part, that a district court must appoint a guardian

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ad litem — or issue another appropriate order — to protect a minor or incompetent person who is

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unrepresented in an action.” Id. (cleaned up). “In the context of proposed settlements in suits
involving minor plaintiffs, this special duty requires a district court to ‘conduct its own inquiry to

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

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determine whether the settlement serves the best interests of the minor.’” Id. (quoting Dacanay v.

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Mendoza, 573 F.2d 1075, 1080 (9th Cir. 1978)).
In cases involving the settlement of federal claims, district courts should “limit the scope of

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their review to the question whether the net amount distributed to each minor plaintiff in the

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settlement is fair and reasonable, in light of the facts of the case, the minor’s specific claim, and

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recovery in similar cases,” and should “evaluate the fairness of each minor plaintiff’s net recovery

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without regard to the proportion of the total settlement value designated for adult co-plaintiffs or

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plaintiffs’ counsel — whose interests the district court has no special duty to safeguard.” Id. at

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1181–82 (citing Dacanay, 573 F.2d at 1078).
The settlement terms are as follows. The settlement amount is $5,700,000, allocated as

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follows: (1) $427,500 for plaintiff Paula McGowan; (2) $427,500 for plaintiff Ronell Foster Sr.;

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(3) $2,422,500 for plaintiff I.F.; and (4) $2,422,500 for plaintiff R.F.5 R.F.’s portion of the

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settlement includes depositing (1) $294,654.51 into an interest-bearing blocked trust account at an

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Mot. to Approve Minor’s Compromise – ECF No. 14; Stipulation of Non-Opposition – ECF No. 15.

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Mot. to Approve Minor’s Compromise – ECF No. 14 at 5; see also Buelna Decl. – ECF No. 14-1 at 4
(¶ 12).

ORDER – N.D. Cal. Case No. 20-mc-80075-LB, E.D. Cal. Case No. 2:18-cv-00673-JAM

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FDIC insured institution and (2) the remaining funds into a structured settlement annuity with a

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present value cost of $1,500,000.6
The trust account provides the following payments:

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Upon funding the interest-bearing blocked trust account in the amount of
$294,654.51, the financial institution will immediately disburse $7,500;

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$500 on December 10, 2020, December 10, 2021, and December 10, 2022 as a
symbolic birthday gift to R.F. from his father;

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$500 on May 1, 2020, May 1, 2021, and May 1, 2022, which can be used for R.F.’s
summer activities;

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$500 on August 1, 2021, and August 1, 2022, which can be used to pay for R.F.’s
school supplies and clothing;

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No other disbursements will be made from the interest-blocked trust account unless
ordered by the court. Any and all remaining funds in the interest-bearing blocked
trust account will be made available to R.F. on his 18th birthday, which can be used
to help pay for college, buy a car, house and/or start a business.7

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

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The annuity provides a combination of periodic and lump payments as follows:

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$2,500 per month beginning on August 1, 2023, guaranteed for 4 years, with the
last guaranteed payment on July 1, 2027, which can be used to help as a cover
stipend to cover R.F.’s day-to-day living expenses (for a total of $120,000
guaranteed payout);

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$7,500 per month beginning on August 1, 2027, with the last guaranteed payment
on December 1, 2039 (for a total of $1,117,500 guaranteed payout);

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$100,000 on December 21, 2026 when R.F. is 22 years old;

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$200,000 on December 21, 2029 when R.F. is 25 years old;

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$393,025.55 on December 21, 2034 when R.F. is 30 years old.8

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Mot. to Approve Minor’s Compromise – ECF No. 14 at 5; Buelna Decl. – ECF No. 14-1 at 5 (¶ 17).

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Mot. to Approve Minor’s Compromise – ECF No. 14 at 6–7. The initial $7,500 payment and the
subsequent $500 payments will be disbursed through cashier’s checks made payable to “Shena Batten
for the benefit of Ronell Foster.” Id.

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Id. at 8; Pacific Life Settlement Proposal, Ex. 1 to Buelna Decl. – ECF No. 14-2 at 2.

ORDER – N.D. Cal. Case No. 20-mc-80075-LB, E.D. Cal. Case No. 2:18-cv-00673-JAM

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The defendants will arrange for the purchase of the tax-free structured settlement annuity

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policy from PacificLife Insurance Company.9 The total guaranteed payout to R.F. is

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$2,225.180.06.10
R.F.’s counsel incurred a total cost of $22,220.49 on his behalf and agreed to attorney’s fees of

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$605,625, which is 25 percent of the settlement.11

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The settlement provides for a substantial monetary benefit to R.F., throughout his life, for his

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education, housing expenses, and other financial needs. In light of the benefit that the minor child

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has received in the litigation, and for the reasons advanced in the motion for approval, the court

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finds that the settlement is reasonable, and the attorney’s fees and costs are reasonable and

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appropriate.

United States District Court
Northern District of California

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CONCLUSION

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The court approves the minor’s compromise and orders that the settlement be implemented

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according to its terms (and as described above). The parties must complete all necessary

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documents and the defendants must fund the structured settlement annuities by November 6, 2020.

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The defendants will also provide a check for the unstructured $922,500 amount (consisting of the

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$294,654.51 for the interest-bearing blocked trust account and $627,845.49 for fees and costs)

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made payable to “Law Offices of John L. Burris in trust for R.F.” (using his real name) to arrive at

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the Law Offices of John Burris no later than 30 days from this court’s order.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.

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Dated: October 3, 2020
______________________________________
LAUREL BEELER
United States Magistrate Judge

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Mot. to Approve Minor’s Compromise – ECF No. 14 at 5–6.

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Id. at 8; Buelna Decl. – ECF No. 14-1 at 4 (¶ 12).

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Mot. to Approve Minor’s Compromise – ECF No. 14 at 8.

ORDER – N.D. Cal. Case No. 20-mc-80075-LB, E.D. Cal. Case No. 2:18-cv-00673-JAM

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