A judge has denied a motion by Los Angeles Unified for a retrial of a lawsuit in which the mother of a 6-year-old boy who was fatally beaten the day after Christmas in 2019 won $30 million in emotional distress damages.
Plaintiff Kenya Taylor, a 41-year-old mother, claimed that the school district negligently hired, retained, and supervised Tyler D’Shaun Martin Brand, the accused killer who worked in an after-school program.
On Tuesday, Judge Michael B. Harwin of Van Nuys Superior Court rejected the LAUSD’s requests for a new trial and judgment notwithstanding the verdict. In a verdict on August 29, jurors found the LAUSD 90% at fault and Kenya Taylor 10% at fault.
Judge Harwin explained that Kenya Taylor relied on the district’s judgment when they hired Brand, leading to her justifiable reliance on the district’s decision.
“The court finds enough evidence to support the verdict,” wrote Judge Harwin.
In response to the lawsuit, LAUSD attorneys argued that the district should be immune from the plaintiff’s claims according to the state Education Code. They claimed that Dayvon Taylor’s death occurred off campus, during a school holiday, and was unrelated to any school-sponsored activity.
In addition, the LAUSD lawyers criticized the verdict because it placed “zero percentage of fault” on the murderer.
In May 2022, Brand pleaded no contest to second-degree murder in Norwalk Superior Court and received a sentence of 15 years to life in prison. The District Attorney’s Office stated that the boy was severely beaten at Brand’s Downey apartment on December 26, 2019, and died the same day at St. Mary Medical Center in Long Beach. Brand, the boy’s godfather, had been taking care of him during the holiday break.
The lawsuit alleges that Dayvon attended Normandie Avenue Elementary School’s Beyond the Bell program, where Brand was his supervisor and coach. The suit, filed in August 2020, claims that Brand isolated Dayvon from other students, teachers, and supervisors and had a history of abusive conduct with children, which the district should have known about.
Kenya Taylor has experienced significant loss and emotional distress since her son’s death, according to the lawsuit.
Denial of responsibility! Vigour Times is an automatic aggregator of Global media. In each content, the hyperlink to the primary source is specified. All trademarks belong to their rightful owners, and all materials to their authors. For any complaint, please reach us at – [email protected]. We will take necessary action within 24 hours.
