A judge has approved a $300,000 settlement in a lawsuit brought against the Archer School for Girls on behalf of a girl, now 17, who alleged she was sexually assaulted by an older student multiple times off campus with “escalating levels of severity” in 2021.
The plaintiff is identified only as Jane Doe in her Beverly Hills Superior Court lawsuit. On Wednesday, Judge Michael E. Whitaker signed an order approving the accord. A judge’s review was necessary because the plaintiff is a minor and will not turn 18 until Sept. 23.
The expected net proceeds for the plaintiff after deductions for such costs as expert fees and deposition expenses amounts to just under $212,000.
In her lawsuit, Doe alleged the Brentwood school administration did little to protect her and told her mother the matter “did not concern the school” because the alleged abuses occurred away from campus. Doe further contended she obeyed school orders to not talk about the assault, but that her enrollment was wrongfully ended anyway in 2022.
Notable graduates of the Archer School for Girls include singer-songwriter Gracie Abrams, screenwriter Samy Burch, actress Harley Quinn Smith, model Amelia Gray Hamlin and director Gia Coppola.
In their previous court papers, Archer School attorneys denied Doe’s allegations, labeled her “careless and negligent” and asserted that her claims were barred by the statute of limitations.
According to the lawsuit filed in June 2023, Doe was sexually assaulted by an older student multiple times in November 2021 with “escalating levels of severity.” The classmate, a biological female, was identifying as “they” at the time of the alleged assaults, the suit contended.
She reported the alleged misconduct to the school administration, which did nothing to protect her and told her mother that the accusations did not concern the school because the events did not happen on school grounds, according to the lawsuit.
The Archer administration compounded the issues by telling the girl and her parents to not say anything or discuss what happened on or off campus, the suit alleged.
The Archer leaders also told the family in February 2022 that it would withhold Doe’s renewal contract for one month to ensure compliance with their demand of silence, the suit alleged. Even though Doe and her parents abided by the order, Doe’s enrollment was canceled anyway for pretextual reasons, according to the complaint.
“The Archer School’s callous, negligent and dishonest conduct compounded the violations plaintiff had already experienced, causing her severe emotional distress and breaching the school’s duty of care to plaintiff,” the suit stated.