In 1995 and 1996, the plaintiffs, two students at Joaquin Moraga Intermediate School, in Moraga, were allegedly sexually abused by their biology teacher, Daniel Witters. After multiple complaints led to a police investigation, Witters was placed on work leave in 1996. He committed suicide shortly thereafter. In 2012, the two middle school students brought suit against the Moraga School District; the district’s superintendent, John Cooley; the school’s principal, William Walters; and the school’s assistant principal, Paul Simonin. The students alleged that the defendants were negligent in the retention and supervision of Witters, and negligent in regard to the handling of the allegations against Witters. In addition, they alleged that the defendants’ actions constituted a concealment of their own misconduct. The school district, superintendent, principal, and assistant principal were initially sued as “Roe” defendants, but their names were later disclosed in separate actions, brought by two other young women who were also students of Witters. As a result, this action was amended to include the defendants’ names, while the suits by the other two women ultimately settled for a combined total of $4.65 million in 2013. Plaintiffs’ counsel contended that the district’s administrators — including Cooley, Walters, and Simonin — received multiple complaints regarding Witters’ sexual harassment and abuse of female students starting in the early 1990s, but that they had taken little or no action in response. Counsel also contended that Cooley, Walters, and Simonin received a letter in 1994 from a former female student, informing them that Witters had sexually assaulted her in 1990, while he was her teacher. However, plaintiffs’ counsel asserted that the defendants failed to report the 1994 letter to the police and did nothing to investigate the matter internally. Counsel also asserted that further reports of sexual abuse in 1995 were also ignored by the defendants, which allowed Witters to continue molesting students, including both of the plaintiffs in 1995 and 1996. Thus, plaintiffs’ counsel asserted that the defendants violated state law, which requires school employees to immediately report any suspicions of child abuse to authorities. The school district’s counsel contended that the lawsuits were time-barred and should have been filed in 1996, when the allegations were first made. Counsel also asserted that Witters was solely (or mostly) at fault for the harm caused to the plaintiffs. Counsel for the administrators asserted that Cooley, Walters, and Simonin did not have enough information to generate a report of suspected child abuse., The two middle school students claimed that they both sexually assaulted by Witters, causing them to each suffer from severe emotional distress, post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, anxiety, relationship issues, and other personal issues as teenagers into adulthood. The plaintiffs’ psychology expert opined that each victim would need significant ongoing therapy for the next several years in order to cope with, and resolve, the many emotional issues they have as a result of the child abuse. Thus, the two middle school students each sought recovery of $5,000 for past therapy costs, $150,000 for future therapy costs, and an unspecified amount in general emotional distress damages. Defense counsel argued that the plaintiffs had gone on to do well in school, had successful careers, and were dealing with emotional issues in therapy already.