School to Use Victim Fund Expert to Settle Claims
STATE COLLEGE – Penn State has asked a judge to delay a civil lawsuit filed by a young man whose allegations of sexual abuse triggered the criminal investigation into retired assistant coach Jerry Sandusky, according to an Associated Press report.
A school spokesman told the Centre Daily Times on Wednesday that the move was purely procedural, and had nothing to do with Penn State’s commitment to resolving the claims of the man known in court documents as Victim 1 or any other men whom Sandusky was convicted of abusing as boys.
The Victim 1 complaint in Philadelphia state court makes allegations against two former school administrators awaiting trial on charges of perjury and failing to report abuse allegations.
The school requested the delay last week, saying the pending trial and ongoing criminal investigation could prejudice the civil case, the AP reported.
Penn State also plans to bring in the man who ran the Sept. 11 victim fund and other major compensation programs as it attempts to settle claims by Sandusky’s child molestation victims.
Plaintiff’s attorney Jeff Anderson said a lawyer for the university notified him in recent days that it will be aided by lawyer Ken Feinberg.
Feinberg and university spokesman Dave La Torre are declining to comment.
Feinberg also ran victim compensation funds for victims of Agent Orange, the Virginia Tech massacre and the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. He’s the author of a new book, “Who Gets What: Fair Compensation after Tragedy and Financial Upheaval,” that details the processes he’s used to evaluate and pay claims for major tragedies, according to the AP report.
