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LOS ANGELES (CNS) - Settlement terms will be sealed for two minors in a lawsuit brought by the family of a 3-year-old boy who allegedly contracted lead poisoning at a rental property owned by Southwestern Law School, in part to protect the lead plaintiff's former boyfriend from trying to share in the accord, a judge has ruled.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Maurice Leiter issued his order Tuesday in the case brought by Carina Castaneda on behalf of herself and her relatives. Both sides had requested that the terms for Castaneda's sons not be made public.
The 41-year-old Castaneda's fellow plaintiffs are her afflicted son, Isaias; her second son, 1-year-old Iyse Melendez; and her mother, Maria Jesus Salazar Garcia, 73. The plaintiffs' attorneys filed court papers Friday notifying Leiter of a "conditional" settlement in the case with the expectation that a request for dismissal will be brought by June 3.
No terms were divulged regarding the adult plaintiffs and a hearing is scheduled Feb. 21 for the judge to review the settlement terms for the minors.
Castaneda gave a sworn declaration in support of Southwestern's motion to keep the settlement terms for her two sons out of public view. She said her 42-year-old ex-partner, the father of her children, has "never paid me a dime in child support and has not been involved in raising or caring for Isaias or Iyse."
Castaneda said the man was a drug abuser as well as both physically and emotionally abusive toward her and that she obtained a restraining order against him.
"I am extremely concerned that if the financial terms of Isaias's, Iyse's or my settlements are disclosed, (her former boyfriend) will do something to gain access to some or all of the settlement proceeds," Castaneda says. "Given the prior abuse I suffered from (the man), allowing him back into my or my children's lives would be harmful to both me and my children's emotional well-being."
Castaneda says she is additionally worried that if the settlement terms were known to the general public, she, her mother and her children could be subjected to financial manipulation and duress.
"I want to live a private life where I can care for my children and my mother," Castaneda says.
In her suit filed Sept. 26, Castaneda alleges that Southwestern failed to properly own, operate and manage their former apartment on Shatto Place in Koreatown. The unit had dangerous levels of peeling and deteriorated lead- based paint and was infested by cockroaches, which along with other allegedly substandard conditions caused the plaintiffs significant bodily injuries, emotional distress and property damage, according to the suit.
The lead-based paint in the Castaneda family's apartment "poisoned young Isaias," the family's lawyers further maintain.