The last of a series of lawsuits stemming from the workplace behavior of a top former District Attorney’s Office executive has been settled for $100,000, county officials announced Tuesday.
Former Orange County Public Defender Mohammad Abuershaid accepted the settlement in his claim he was defamed by former prosecutor Gary LoGalbo, who was best man at the wedding of District Attorney Todd Spitzer and retired amid a scandal over harassment allegations and later died at home in November 2022.
Abuershaid alleged that LoGalbo referred to him as a “terrorist” while discussing cases he handled.
In March, supervisors approved a $995,000 settlement for Clarisse Magtoto, $988,000 for Amy Tallakson, and $925,000 settlements for Deputy District Attorney Mallory Miller and former prosecutor Shabnum Azizi, now an attorney in San Diego.
The settlements followed a $3.5 million verdict won in February by Deputy District Attorney Bethel Cope-Vega against the county. Cope-Vega’s victory followed a triumph for Tracy Miller last year in her lawsuit against the county, Spitzer and his former top assistant, Shawn Nelson — now an Orange County Superior Court judge.
Miller, who won a $3 million verdict and $1.5 million in attorneys fees, said she was forced to retire due to retaliation for moving to protect whistleblowers alleging harassment from LoGalbo.
The county’s risk-assessment attorneys had negotiated a settlement for about $6 million that would have resolved all of the cases, but the Board of Supervisors rejected it in August 2021, and hired Sheppard-Mullin to defend the county.
The cost for the county has risen to about $12 million or nearly twice as much as it would have cost to settle it initially. It’s not known how much Sheppard-Mullin has billed the county for legal fees.