Reaching a Settlement in a Long Island Sexual Assault Case

A settlement is a voluntary agreement between two parties. One party foregoes or discontinues the lawsuit or agrees not to bring a lawsuit, while the other party agrees to pay some form of compensation. Victims of sexual assault have a right to pursue litigation or to try to settle with their assailants. An experienced attorney could make the difference in reaching a settlement in a Long Island sexual assault case, and the client’s lawyers, in this case, proved to be an essential part of the settlement process.

The Process of Reaching a Settlement

One of the attorneys personally had multiple consultations with the assailant, who was also an attorney. This assailant represented himself and did not have legal counsel, which was ultimately a poor move. A lawyer for the victim pleaded with the assailant to settle the case and to not go public, but they did not want to settle the case because they were claiming that they had no money. Upon investigation, the client’s attorneys found that to be false. Tireless efforts were made to try to get the assailant to settle the case before trial, but they refused.

The case went through the entire litigation process and, at the end when it was ready for trial, there were numerous conferences in court. Ultimately though, the case was resolved between the defendant and the client. The case was coming to trial, and the judge made a serious effort to try to settle the case, like judges from all states do. That is when the cases got settled out of court for approximately $400,000, which the assailant made in two or three payments, and the client was satisfied with this amount.

Being Honest with an Attorney During the Case

A client should have enough faith in their lawyer to let them use some discretion because they want to be on the same page as their client and want to have those types of discussions to avoid surprises. By the time this case ended, the attorneys were able to resolve it for compensation that was satisfactory to the client.

Lawyer Considerations in a Sexual Assault Case

Because the money was coming directly out of the defendant’s pocket, the client’s lawyers considered the timing of the settlement, how long it was going to take, and how many payments were to be made. They wanted to make sure they had as good a picture as they could about the defendant’s financial standing. Attorneys usually deal with an insurance company that writes a check, so this case was a little different.