MORENO VALLEY, CA — The family of a 13-year-old who was killed by bullies at school reached a $27 million settlement with the Moreno Valley district — the largest of its kind in U.S. history, the law firm representing the victim’s loved ones announced Wednesday.
Diego Stolz was an eighth grade student attending Landmark Middle School on Sept, 16, 2019, when he was punched repeatedly and hit his head on a concrete pillar, suffering a major traumatic brain injury from which he never awoke, according to the law firm of Taylor & Ring.
“The family will forever be heartbroken by the death of Diego but they hope this case brings about change in school districts across the country,” lead counsel Dave Ring said in a news release.
“Schools need to realize that bullying can never be tolerated and that any complaints of bullying and assault must be taken seriously. Diego’s death was preventable if this school had simply prioritized an anti-bullying policy.”
Diego was repeatedly bullied — verbally and physically — in seventh grade, prompting his family to make several complaints to school administrators, according to the firm.
The Thursday before he died, he was punched in the head from behind while walking to class and reported the incident to a teacher, who notified an assistant principal, the firm said. Diego and an adult relative met Friday with the administrator, who promised to suspend the bullies starting Monday, but that didn’t happen, according to the firm.
On Monday, Diego was confronted at lunch and the deadly attack was captured on video, showing Diego did nothing to instigate or escalate the situation, the firm said.
In November 2020, the two assailants, whose identities were not disclosed, both admitted an involuntary manslaughter charge, and five months later, Riverside County Superior Court Judge Roger Luebs sentenced the teenagers to unspecified terms of probation.
Luebs further directed that each offender enroll in character development and anger management classes, as well as perform 150 hours community service, not play violent video games, avoid social media and write letters of apology to the Stolz family.
School officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment from City News Service but said that the district intended to release a statement sometime Wednesday afternoon.
Within a year of Diego’s death, the district revamped its policies regarding student complaints, implementing a program with a series of procedures for deterring all forms of bullying.
The principal of Landmark and two assistant principals all lost their positions in the wake of the lawsuit, according to the plaintiffs’ attorneys.
Lawyers for both sides have agreed to the settlement, but it is still pending school board approval, The Press-Enterprise reported.
The lawsuit was brought by Diego’s legal guardians, Juana and Felipe Salcedo, who raised their nephew, according to the firm, which noted state law was changed to allow such action by someone other than a child’s parents in cases where the parents are dead.
Diego is at least the second student to die in connection with a violent incident at Landmark, The Press Enterprise reported, noting 12-year-old Jerod Schroeder’s young life was cut short in 1998 when he was punched and hit his head on blacktop at the school.
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