Have You Been Injured? We're Ready to Fight for You.

The Danger of Forced Arbitration When Used to Silence Sexual Assault Victims

Published on Jun 25, 2019 by Thomas Law Offices.

In Aug. 2017, a 45-year-old teacher, Aimee Palmitessa, was arrested and charged with 12 felonies related to having sex with a minor. She taught at Brentwood School in Los Angeles, California, a $44,000 per year private academy. She was known in the school to flirt with male students and make inappropriate jokes. The specific relationship she was arrested for started in 2016 with student John Doe. She first sexually assaulted him in 2017 when he was 17 and the relationship escalated from there. Other than being a minor, he was also unable to consent because the teacher-student relationship contains a power dynamic. When the school found out, she was placed on administrative leave, but the head of the school, Michael Riera, minimized allegations to parents at the school.

John Doe sued the school in Aug. 2018 in Los Angeles County Superior Court for failing to protect him by ignoring the warning signs of her behavior long before he was in her classroom. The 33-page lawsuit included the details of her grooming and assaulting Doe. But the lawsuit quickly went away from public eye from the loophole of forced arbitration.

What is Forced Arbitration?

Brentwood School has a paragraph in its enrollment agreement that any “controversy or claim” related to the school must be dealt with in arbitration. Many highly ranked private schools in the U.S. are assumed to have similar policies to protect themselves from any scrutiny. Arbitration allows them to privately deal with cases of sexual or physical abuse, bullying, and discrimination, and in the cases of some Christian schools, discrimination against LGBTQ students.

Arbitration is a secretive process that brings a case to a disinterested third party with no jury and little oversight. It also limits options for obtaining information, unlike in civil court where Doe’s lawyers would have been able to get more information to prove the school knew more about her interactions with Doe and other students. A Cornell study found that arbitration generally favors the employer, which is why Brentwood School—and others—chose to put it in the enrollment agreement.

Typically in these cases, both sides are given a list of at least five arbitrators and each side can strike two names to narrow the choice down. This is the only control the victim receives in this process. The arbitrator then makes a list of the information that can be requested from either side. Like the case above, this limits the victim from finding information to prove prior knowledge or a history of abuse. Unlike public court, minimal information from the case becomes public record. Usually decisions are final. Schools might argue this process is to protect the student’s privacy in a case, but that privacy comes with a major side effect that’s impossible to ignore: It protects the institution as well.

The Danger of Forced Arbitration

The problem with forced arbitration is that it can enable sexual harassment and silence victims. In cases where arbitration is used, the company doesn’t have to make the information public. This protects the person who was blamed by keeping victims from speaking to the public or learning about other victims’ cases. Victims are granted limited, if any, compensation. Keeping the case out of the public eye also safeguards the company from backlash from the public about their decisions. This process protects the company, school, or abuser, and usually works to silence sexual assault victims.

In the case of John Doe and Brentwood School, forced arbitration protected his abuser. He was unable to get information that proved she had a history of sexually abusing students, and that her peers and higher ups neglected to do anything about her behavior. In Nov. 2018, a judge sided with Brentwood School, silencing Doe. He is left with physical and emotional scars from her abuse. Even though he is in college now, he still struggles to socialize, make friends, and trust.

The good news is that some companies are reforming so cases of sexual assault and sexual harassment do not automatically go to arbitration. The victim can choose if they want to handle the case privately or in public courts. This gives the victim the power in the situation, which is important, as forced arbitration stripped them of any power they could have in a case.

If you’ve suffered from sexual assault and want to pursue legal action, contact us.

Free Case Evaluation

At Thomas Law Offices, our personal injury attorneys recognize that our potential clients are likely going through some of the most difficult times of their lives. We don't want you to have to worry about paying out of pocket for legal advice when you're just starting to learn your legal rights and options. That's why we provide free case evaluations. We'll offer our expert advice about your potential case and walk you through how we can help you.

Call us or fill out the form below to tell us about your potential case and a personal injury lawyer will get back to you as quickly as possible.

Meet Our Founder

Tad Thomas - Trial Lawyer

Tad Thomas

Managing Partner

Tad Thomas has dedicated his practice to representing plaintiffs in various types of civil litigation, including personal injury, business litigation, class actions, and multi-district litigation.

After graduating with his law degree in 2000 from Salmon P. Chase College of Law at Northern Kentucky University, Mr. Thomas immediately opened his own private practice and began representing injury victims.

In 2011, Thomas Law Offices was established in Louisville, Kentucky. Over the past decade, Mr. Thomas has expanded his firm and now has offices in three additional locations: Cincinnati, Ohio, Columbia, Missouri, and Chicago, Illinois. He is also a frequent lecturer on topics like trial skills and ethics and technology.

Legal & Firm News

Former Nebraska Women’s Basketball Player Sues Coach & University Over Alleged Sexual Grooming

A February 18 civil lawsuit filed by a former University of Nebraska basketball player alleges that the male associate head coach of her then-team used their position of authority to groom her into a sexual relationship with them. This alleged sexual misconduct occurred between 2020 and 2022. Listed as defendants in the lawsuit are the […]

Read More

Iowa Nursing Home Staff Abused and Laughed at Patients According to Records

A whistleblower retaliation lawsuit filed on Feb. 15, 2024, reveals how there was pervasive mistreatment of nursing home residents at a DesMoines, Iowa nursing home beginning as early as March 2022.   A later Iowa Department of Inspection and Appeals (DIA) investigation, launched after her dismissal, confirmed the majority of those reports (and others) alleging staff […]

Read More

Tad Thomas Named Lawdragon 500 Leading Consumer Plaintiff Lawyer for 2024

Thomas Law Offices is proud to announce that founder, Tad Thomas, has been recognized by Lawdragon on the 2024 Lawdragon 500 Leading Plaintiff Consumer Lawyers list. Tad has been a trial lawyer for over 20 years. He founded Thomas Law Offices in Louisville, Kentucky, and over the years, his reputation and practice have grown, expanding […]

Read More
Tad Thomas on The National Crime Victim Bar Association
National Civil Justice Institute - Trustee
Tad Thomas on Lawyer Minds
Tad Thomas on American Association for Justice
Southern Trial Lawyers Association
Illinois Trial Lawyers Association
Ohio Association for Justice
Kentucky Justice Association
Fellows of the Litigation Counsel of America
Martindale Hubbell Preeminent
2021 Public Justice Member
AAJ Masters of Trial Law: Champion