A judge has given formal approval to a $4 million settlement between a Santa Monica trapeze school and a former USC business student who alleged she was severely injured performing an exercise required of her as an elective while working toward her MBA.
Jill Johnson’s Los Angeles Superior Court suit names as defendants USC, marketing professor Joseph Priester, TSNY Los Angeles LLC and Trapeze School World Corp. The complaint alleged premises liability, negligence and negligent hiring, retention, training and supervision.
On Thursday, Judge Lisa Jaskol signed an order approving the accord between Johnson and the trapeze school. The trapeze defendants stated in previous court papers that they and lawyers for the plaintiff participated in intensive settlement discussions prior to reaching the proposed accord in order to limit additional legal expenses.
“The court will find that the settlement … was made in good faith and that the settlement amount is within a reasonable range of (TSNY’s) proportional share of comparative liability for plaintiff’s injuries,” the trapeze school lawyers further stated in their pleadings.
In their earlier court papers, TSNY attorneys as well as USC lawyers contended that Johnson knew of the potential perils of the trapeze exercise and went forward with it anyway.
After a comprehensive safety assessment, the trapeze activity at the school near the Santa Monica Pier was officially approved by the administration department of the Marshall School of Business in 2007 and since then has been one of the off-campus activities included in the Fostering Creativity course, the USC lawyers further stated.
The litigation will continue for the portions of the lawsuit against USC and Priester. A nonjury trial is scheduled Jan. 7.
According to the suit originally filed in October 2023 and amended in April 2024, Johnson was a student at USC Marshall School of Business, working to obtain an MBA. She was required to take a number of elective units and enrolled in a course, “Fostering Creativity,” in which Priester, as part of the course curriculum, scheduled a group lesson at trapeze school in 2023, the suit alleges.
Priester did not say the trapeze lesson was optional, nor did he provide alternative activities that students could complete, according to the suit.
Johnson told the professor she was concerned about the school’s weight limit and whether she would be able to participate, but he replied, “You are in great shape, and the weight will not be an issue,” the suit states.
Priester knew that Johnson exceeded the 205-pound weight limit, but still encouraged her to participate, the suit states.
During the second of two exercises, Johnson swung forward, then back, then forward again and tucked her legs and landed on the net after completing the back flip, but she felt one leg crumple beneath her, could not stand and saw blood pouring out of her leg, according to the suit.
USC owed Johnson an obligation to not expose her to unnecessary risk and to supervise and approve the curriculum of its professors, but she suffered severe physical and emotional injuries, incurred medical costs and experienced past and future lost earnings, the suit alleges.