Asked if confidentiality would be a sticking point for the university, Rothweiler said: "Oh God absolutely."
Considering the national scrutiny and the prospect of a sympathetic jury, Rothweiler said the plaintiffs' attorneys had the upper hand. At the end of the day though, if Rothweiler were representing an accuser and the university were willing to sign off on his demand, with a confidentiality stipulation, Rothweiler said he'd take it.
That is, unless the client and his family insisted upon it, he said.
A number of defense attorneys, both local and from out of state, either declined comment or did not return a call from The Legal for this story.
A university spokesperson did not return a request for comment. The university's lead attorney, James A. Keller of Saul Ewing, was on trial and was not available.
Ben Present can be contacted at 215-557-2315 or bpresent@alm.com. Follow him on Twitter @BPresentTLI. •
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Jeff Spangler
How about a down payment of a few million to every claimant with some other form of ADR (alternative dispute resolution) to follow on the final figure? I hope at least one plaintiff refuses to accept either confidentiality or settlement and forces the case to a public trial by jury. That's the only way to achieve closure for the victims and render justice to the men at Penn State who allowed this savagery to recur.
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LulaineRDLegalFunding
This is probably going to be the toughest issue Mr. Feinberg is going to have to deal with. Sexual abuse isn't quantifiable like the BP claims or even the 9/11 attacks. There was some monetary value at least you can start from. Sexual abuse cause physical, mental and emotional abuse and there is no number that can fix that. This is going to be a long and hard settlement for both parties.
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