Featured Articles

Lawsuit Filed Against Kumon After Unsupervised Child Critically Injured

Published on: October 31, 2024 | By Cerri, Boskovich & Allard, LLP

The parents of seven-year-old Bastian Michel, severely injured after wandering away unsupervised from a Kumon Math & Reading Center in San Jose’s Willow Glen neighborhood, are filing a lawsuit against Kumon North America and Systematic Learnings Inc., which operates the Kumon Math & Reading Center of Willow Glen. The lawsuit accuses the defendants of negligent supervision, leading to Bastian being struck by a vehicle and almost losing his life. The driver involved in the accident is also named in the lawsuit.

The suit alleges that Systematic, as a Kumon franchise, was required to adhere to Kumon’s guidelines on the safety and supervision of children. However, it claims that Kumon’s safety standards were inadequate for a business frequently handling child drop-off and pickup.

“Kumon should have recognized the dangers associated with children leaving various franchises, including risks of vehicle-pedestrian collisions,” said the family’s attorney Mark Boskovich.

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Sexual Abuse Lawsuit Filed Against Gridley Unified School District

Published on: October 15, 2024 | By Cerri, Boskovich & Allard, LLP

District failed to protect eighth-grade student from abuse by former teacher Michelle Solis

Butte County — October 10, 2024 — A lawsuit was filed late yesterday (Butte County Superior Court) against the Gridley Unified School District on behalf of a former middle school student who was sexually abused by his teacher, Michelle Solis, at Sycamore Junior High School during the 2020-2021 academic year. Solis confessed to the sexual activity with the eighth-grade male student and in June of this year was sentenced to four years in state prison.

The lawsuit filed by the San Jose law firm of Cerri, Boskovich & Allard along with the Carrillo Law Firm from South Pasadena alleges that the school district failed to supervise Solis and to protect the student, named as John Doe in the lawsuit, from predators like Solis.

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What Parents Need to Know about Educator Sexual Abuse as a New School Year Begins

Published on: August 22, 2024 | By Cerri, Boskovich & Allard, LLP

As students head back to school, the San Jose law firm of Cerri, Boskovich & Allard is reminding parents about the dangers of sexual abuse by educators and urging parents and school officials to be aware of teachers who exhibit predatory “red flag” behavior, which almost always precedes the sexual abuse of a student.

Sexual predators signal their intent to sexually abuse a student by slowly crossing the boundaries established to protect students. The reality is that predators are not caught abusing children, but they can be caught breaking rules and crossing boundaries if parents and educators know what to look for.

According to Professor Charol Shakeshaft, an internationally recognized researcher, 4.5 million students or nearly 1 out of every ten kids are subjected to educator sexual misconduct. The sexual misconduct ranges from inappropriate conduct to criminal sexual behavior.

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Jury Returns $9 Million Sexual Assault Verdict Against USTA

Published on: May 15, 2024 | By Cerri, Boskovich & Allard, LLP

The United States Tennis Association (USTA) has been ordered by a jury to pay $9 million in damages to tennis player Kylie McKenzie after a court determined that the organization failed to prevent her from being sexually assaulted by her coach.

Kylie McKenzie, a 25-year-old American tennis player, initiated her lawsuit in March 2022 in the US District Court in Orlando, Florida. She filed against both the USTA and USTA Player Development Incorporated, alleging that her former coach, Anibal Aranda, employed by the organization at the time, had committed sexual assault and battery against her.

Accusations also included the USTA’s gross negligence in employing and inadequately supervising Coach Aranda, despite his known history of sexual predation, which the lawsuit contended constituted a conscious disregard or indifference to McKenzie’s life, safety, or rights.

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Berryessa Union School District Pays $10M to Settle Teacher Sexual Abuse Lawsuits

Published on: May 8, 2024 | By Cerri, Boskovich & Allard, LLP

Berryessa Union School District has agreed to pay $10.3 million to a group of former Sierramont Middle School students who were groomed and sexually abused in the late 1990s and early 2000s by a teacher who in 2023 was convicted and sentenced to two decades in prison after the victims renewed their allegations against him.

The settlement with the Berryessa Union School District was announced Tuesday by the San Jose-based law firm Cerri, Boskovich & Allard, which secured the payout on behalf of three students. Two of them testified in the prosecution of Ronald Dean Gardner, who was sentenced in December to 22 years in prison after pleading guilty to sexually abusing a total of four students.

Gardner taught at the school more than two decades ago and was plagued by allegations of inappropriate conduct with students. He was allowed to resign after a police investigation at the time failed to yield any criminal charges against him. In 2021, students came forward again with abuse allegations after Assembly Bill 218, which was in effect from 2020 to 2022, granted a one-time extension of the statute of limitations.

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Lawsuit Accuses Leigh High School Teacher of Impregnating Young Student, Forcing Abortion

Published on: April 18, 2024 | By Cerri, Boskovich & Allard, LLP

The law firm of Cerri, Boskovich & Allard has filed a lawsuit against the Campbell Union High School District. The lawsuit alleges that Leigh High School teacher Shawn Thomas impregnated a student in 2003 and forced her to have an abortion. Thomas was arrested last month after the former student disclosed to police that he raped her while she was his student.

Click for a copy of the lawsuit

The lawsuit states that the victim, referred to as Jane Doe, was a freshman at Leigh High in the 2002-2003 school year. Thomas allegedly began grooming her for sexual advances and assaulting her multiple times on school grounds, including in his portable classroom and a storage room in the boys’ locker room. The lawsuit claims that Thomas’s wife Sarah, who was the Dean of Leigh High at the time, discovered the victim with Thomas in his classroom after they had been having sex.

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Lawsuit Filed Against Sharks Sports & Entertainment Over Alleged Sexual Abuse of San Jose Jr. Sharks Player

Published on: March 7, 2024 | By Cerri, Boskovich & Allard, LLP

The law firm of Cerri, Boskovich & Allard has filed a lawsuit alleging that a San Jose Jr. Sharks hockey player suffered sexual abuse as a result of the negligence of Sharks Sports & Entertainment, LLC (SSE) and its subsidiary, Sharks Ice, LLC.

According to the lawsuit, former San Jose Jr. Sharks hockey coach Kevin Whitmer allegedly began grooming John Doe in April 2021 and subsequently subjected him to multiple instances of sexual assault when he was 12 years old. The lawsuit contends that Whitmer would reportedly take the young victim alone into the locker room at Sharks Ice, the ice-skating facility serving as the official training venue for the NHL’s San Jose Sharks.

The Jr. Sharks are an affiliate of USA Hockey, the national governing body for the sport of tennis in the United States.

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San Francisco Unified School District Settles Two Sexual Abuse Lawsuits for $4.5 million

Published on: March 1, 2024 | By Cerri, Boskovich & Allard, LLP

Two sexual abuse lawsuits against the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) have been settled. The lawsuits involved allegations of sexual abuse by former George Washington High School athletic director Lawrence Young-Yet Chan towards two students, identified as Jane Doe 1 and Jane Doe 2.

According to the lawsuit, the abuse reportedly occurred on the school campus during school hours, in locations like Chan’s office, a locker room, and a stairwell. “School districts have a duty to protect their students and are required to take all reasonable steps to ensure their safety,” attorney Lauren Cerri said.

The SFUSD board of trustees approved the settlement amount following agreements between the insurance carriers, the survivors, and the district. The settlement was reached to spare the survivors from having to retell their stories and to allow them to move forward and start rebuilding their lives.

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San Ramon Valley USD Sexual Assault Lawsuit

Published on: February 29, 2024 | By Cerri, Boskovich & Allard, LLP

A former student from San Ramon Valley High School in Danville has filed a lawsuit against her former theatre arts teacher, Ryan Weible, and the San Ramon Valley Unified School District. The San Jose law firm of Cerri, Boskovich & Allard is representing the victim.

The plaintiff accuses Weible of grooming and sexually abusing her over a decade ago, during the 2010-2011 school year. The lawsuit alleges inappropriate behavior, including hugs, hand massages, students sitting on his lap, and special attention to female students.

Of significant concern is the assertion that despite numerous complaints regarding Weible’s conduct, the school district failed to take appropriate action until 2012. Moreover, the complaint alleges that the district never reported suspicions of child abuse to the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CTC), allowing Weible to continue working with minors. Weible, currently serves as Assistant Head of School for a prestigious Bay Area private school.

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Leading sexual abuse advocates urge Congress to investigate the US Tennis Association over its failure to protect athletes

Published on: October 9, 2023 | By Cerri, Boskovich & Allard, LLP

Congress presented with substantial evidence that USTA avoided implementation of measures to better protect athletes in the face of rampant sexual abuse.

Click here for the PDF document presented to Congress

Backed by dozens of documents from the US Tennis Association (USTA) showing a callous disregard for the safety of athletes, leading sexual abuse advocates are calling for Congressional intervention and an investigation into USTA leadership.

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