[The following reports Nevada County resident and RR reader Bob White’s progress in his investigation into the cost impact of the AtPac suit which the county fought for almost two years and then settled. The EIA mentioned below is the agent administering the insurance pool for member jurisdictions like counties and municipalities. RR’s reporting on the background and progress of this lawsuit can be accessed by searching this blog with keywords ‘AtPac’ and ‘Diaz’.]
Bob White
As you may know I have been conducting an investigation into the actual cost to the County of the AtPac settlement. This investigation is not only directed at ascertaining the cost or an approximation of the cost but also an attempt to determine how that cost could have been, or can be determined, and of course with that, whether or not it could be determined, prior to the settlement, at the time of the settlement, or after the settlement was made. At this time my investigation has amounted to seven letters containing 4,400 words, and two face-to-face meeting with County staff.
I am continuing my investigation but it is appropriate that I relate some of the information I have obtained to this point. Some of this information may have already been disclosed and some of this information is not pertinent to my inquiry.
The fact the settlement was in excess of one million dollars it automatically triggered an additional $60,000 in premium. I have not yet determined if this additional $60,000 is a onetime occurrence or if it is reoccurring for any period of years.
The total cost of the settlement was $1.9 million to AtPac and $775,000 in legal fees. The County paid that amount and was reimbursed by EIA (Excess Insurance Authority) for $2.575 million.
It was EIA that made the offer of $1.9 million in settlement. That limited EIA's costs to $1.9 million had the County refused to settle. It was for that reason the County agreed to settle.
The County's case was based on, and contingent on, an independent forensic evaluation of the data that Aptitude manipulated. This forensic evaluation was expected to illustrate that AtPac incurred no damage. Because this information does not actually pertain to my investigation, I did not attempt to determine why it was believed that this would absolve the County. This forensic evaluation was never accomplished or completed due to litigious obstruction tactics employed by the plaintiff's attorneys.
The legal costs were around $5,000 to $10,000 a month until April of 2011. It was at that point the costs started escalating to the $100,000 per month range. That was then that EIA became involved.
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