US Education Authorities Agree to $36 Billion Compensation in School Violence Death Case... 'Highest Amount Ever'

Bereaved Family of Middle School Student Who Died After Beating at School Files Lawsuit
"Highest Settlement Amount in U.S. History for Bullying Case"

The family of a U.S. middle school student who died after being subjected to group assault at school has reached a settlement with the education authorities to receive approximately 35.9 billion won in compensation.

This is the largest settlement amount in related cases within the United States.

On the 15th (local time), according to foreign media including CNN and CBS in the U.S., the Moreno Valley Unified School District in California announced that it has agreed to pay $27 million (about 35.94 billion won) to the legal guardians of Diego Stoltz (13 years old at the time of death), a student at a middle school under its jurisdiction who died four years ago.

Photo of middle school student Diego Stoltz, who died from school violence in California, USA (left), and his bereaved family (right) [Photo by Los Angeles Times, AP Yonhap News]

According to the lawsuit documents, Stoltz, a student at Landmark Middle School in Moreno Valley, was punched in the head by two male students on September 16, 2019, at school, causing him to fall and hit his head on a concrete pillar, resulting in severe brain damage. He never regained consciousness and died nine days later.

The following year, Stoltz’s family filed a lawsuit claiming that "school administrators were informed that Diego was repeatedly bullied at school, but they completely ignored it and took no measures to stop the bullying." Verbal and physical bullying by the two perpetrators and other male students continued for about two years. Despite reports to the school vice principal, the school neither reviewed the security camera footage capturing the incidents nor disciplined the offending students.

After Stoltz’s death, the two teenage perpetrators admitted to involuntary manslaughter charges and were detained in a juvenile facility for 47 days before being released under probation and ordered to undergo anger management treatment.

The lawyer representing Stoltz’s family in the lawsuit against the education authorities described the settlement as "the largest bullying case settlement in U.S. history." He added, "The family’s grief will never disappear, but we believe this case will bring about real change and increase nationwide attention to anti-bullying programs."

Michael Malat, the education district’s attorney, stated, "We recognized that this case involved difficult legal issues and was a tragic incident," and added, "The district considered this settlement amount to be fair and reasonable." He also noted that the principal and vice principal of the school at the time of the incident have been dismissed.

Martinrex Kedziora, superintendent of the Moreno Valley School District, said in a statement, "We did not take Diego’s death lightly," and emphasized, "The safety and welfare of our students is our top priority."