Los Angeles County was hit by a record number of lawsuits last year, swelling to outside lawyers to protect them from a massive flood of child sexual abuse allegations.

The number of new lawsuits against the county rose to 2,675 last year, according to a tally of legal expenditures released this week. The best number since the county began Public tracking Data from 2008.

The county’s Department of Children and Families Services was most frequently sued in 882 cases, followed by 304 probation and a sheriff’s department, respectively. Both probation and child and family services departments were attacked Thousands of lawsuits In recent years, children have allegedly been sexually abused in foster parents and probation facilities. A shelter for former children.

Even with the number of cases increasing, the overall litigation costs plummeted to $220 million last fiscal year, according to the year. Report, We tracked the county’s legal expenditures from July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024.

That figure showed a 35% decrease from A year ago When the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department agreed to two multi-million dollar settlements that stem from the 2020 helicopter crash that killed basketball star Kobe Bryant.

However, the amount the county paid to outside lawyers increased 18% from the previous year to $75 million. That was almost twice what the county spent four years ago on lawyers.

With several high-value lawsuits out of the way, sheriff’s legal costs have been reduced to just under $100 million from around $150 million two years ago last year. Report.

“We take these issues seriously and continue to strive to minimize the risk of litigation through aggressive and preventative measures,” the Sheriff’s Department said in a statement Tuesday.

Melissa Camacho, senior staff attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union in Southern California – representing prison inmates in two class actions against the county – why the Sheriff’s Office budget is 4 billion in light of huge legal costs They questioned whether it rose to the dollar and repeatedly sued.

The department said, “There is no incentive to fire agents who assault our community members. If the county passes legal costs over $100 million without demanding a penny from the LASD budget, it will cause a horrible car accident.” She told the Times. “The Board of Supervisors needs to take LASD to be responsible for changes in behavior and not just write checks.”

The district attorney’s office was the second-most costatire county agency, surpassing $24 million last year, after a six-fold increase driven primarily by lawsuits alleging false prosecution last year.

Distinguishing. Atty. Nathan Hochman took office in December after these cases were resolved. His office declined to comment.

Many of the cases mentioned in the county’s legal expenditure reports included cases that occurred long ago. For example, the report includes a county’s $3 million settlement. Samuel Bonner, He was falsely convicted of a 1982 murder in Long Beach.

Of the $220 million the county spent on lawsuits, more than $124 million was spent on settlements and court decisions.

The county advisory office said in a statement that the increase in external legal expenditures was partly spent on rising lawyer fees and about $5 million defending last year’s sexual abuse cases.

The county has been struck by more than 2,600 lawsuits, including more than 6,600 plaintiffs, as state lawmakers granted a new window to victims of childhood sexual abuse in 2020.

County officials previously said they had contracted with 11 law firms to handle the claims, many of whom said they could not be investigated because they had no relevant records.

The county counsel office said in a statement.

“The public has the right to know how public funds are being used. Whether it’s outside of lawyers, consultants, you’ll name it,” he said. said David Roy, legal director for the First Amendment Coalition.

Last year’s largest county payment was a $24 million settlement with John Clenn and Eduardo Danbrick. The lawyer later explained that he “created lies” and “produced evidence.”

Another mass settlement came from a lawsuit filed in 2010 over a strip search for a woman in a prison.

In 2019, the court approved a $53 million payment on behalf of 87,937 women who had been searched over 420,000 times in nine years starting in 2008. Last year was the third installment payment in three installments.

The sheriff’s department stopped halting regular searches for female inmates when it began relying on body scanners six years after the lawsuit was filed.