USC/Tyndall Lawsuit: $215M Federal and $852M State Settlements

The USC Tyndall lawsuit settlement totals more than $1.1 billion — the largest sex abuse payout in the history of American higher education — resolving claims that George Tyndall, the sole full-time gynecologist at the University of Southern California’s student health center from 1989 to 2017, sexually abused patients for nearly three decades. The money was paid through two main agreements: a $215 million federal class action covering more than 18,000 former patients, and an $852 million state court settlement for roughly 710 women who opted out to sue individually. Smaller settlements make up the balance, and their amounts were not publicly disclosed.¹

The $215 Million Federal Class Action

The federal class action was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California and covered every woman who received women’s health services from Tyndall at the student health center between August 14, 1989, and June 21, 2016 — more than 18,000 people. U.S. District Judge Stephen V. Wilson granted final approval on February 25, 2020.²

Participation was designed to be low-barrier. Class members did not need to hire a lawyer, file a separate lawsuit, or sit for a deposition. Any patient who had seen Tyndall was eligible.³

Payouts were structured in three tiers:

Every eligible class member received a minimum of $2,500.
Class members who submitted a written account of their experience could receive $7,500 to $20,000.
Class members who also completed an interview with a three-member claims panel — a special master, an OB-GYN, and a forensic psychologist — could receive up to $250,000.⁴

Plaintiffs were represented by Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, Hagens Berman, Girard Sharp, and Sauder Schelkopf.⁵ At least 600 class members chose to opt out and pursue individual litigation instead.⁶

The $852 Million State Court Settlement

The state court settlement, announced on March 25, 2021, resolved the individual lawsuits filed by roughly 710 women who had opted out of the federal class action. The case was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court as Jane Doe et al. v. University of Southern California, Case No. BC715163. A private mediator and a Los Angeles Superior Court judge helped broker the deal.¹

To join this settlement, plaintiffs had to meet a higher threshold than federal class members: retaining an attorney, consulting a mental health practitioner, and alleging damages exceeding $250,000.³

Individual allocations were decided by a retired judge based on the severity of each plaintiff’s claims. Estimated payouts ranged from low-to-mid six figures to more than $2 million per plaintiff.⁷ USC agreed to fund the payments in two installments, in August 2021 and August 2022.⁸ No confidentiality or non-disclosure agreements were attached.⁹

Key plaintiff firms included Manly, Stewart & Finaldi, which represented 234 survivors and served as co-liaison counsel; Arias Sanguinetti Wang & Torrijos; and Janet, Janet and Suggs.

How USC Paid for It

USC said the settlements would be funded through litigation reserves, insurance proceeds, deferred capital spending, potential sales of non-essential assets, and expense management. The university stated it would not use philanthropic gifts, endowment funds, or tuition revenue, and that faculty and staff compensation, retirement benefits, and financial aid would not be affected.³

What the Lawsuits Alleged

Court filings described Tyndall’s conduct during purportedly routine exams as having “no legitimate medical purpose”: groping patients’ breasts, digitally penetrating them without gloves, spreading open their bodies to stare, and asking sexually explicit questions unrelated to their care. He also secretly photographed patients’ genitals and kept the images in his office. USC-employed chaperones were often present during the encounters and said nothing.¹⁰

USC acknowledged receiving complaints about Tyndall dating back to at least the late 1980s but never reported him to law enforcement or the Medical Board of California during his tenure.¹¹ A 2016 internal investigation found the box of patient photographs and confirmed the improper exams, yet the university let Tyndall continue seeing patients for another day and a half before eventually allowing him to resign on June 30, 2017 with a financial exit package. The subsequent lawsuits characterized that arrangement as a deliberate attempt to keep the abuse concealed.¹²

Criminal Charges and Tyndall’s Death

The settlements were civil. Tyndall was separately arrested in June 2019 and charged with 35 criminal counts related to conduct between 2009 and 2016 involving 16 former patients.¹³ The charges were later reduced to 27 felony counts: 18 counts of sexual penetration of an unconscious person and nine counts of sexual battery by fraud. He pleaded not guilty, was released on $1.3 million bail, and surrendered his medical license effective September 5, 2019.¹⁴

The criminal case never reached trial. On October 4, 2023, Tyndall was found dead at his Westlake condominium at age 76. The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner ruled the death natural, caused by arteriosclerotic and hypertensive cardiovascular disease with Type 2 diabetes as a contributing factor.¹⁵ The 27 felony charges were dismissed after his death.¹⁶ No USC employees are publicly known to have faced legal consequences for failing to report him.

The Federal Title IX Finding

The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights concluded a 21-month directed investigation in February 2020 with a formal finding that USC violated Title IX by failing to “promptly and equitably respond to notice of nine complaints by patients of potential sexual harassment during medical examinations between 2000 and 2016.”¹⁷ The OCR identified systemic deficiencies, including record-keeping so poor that repeated complaints against the same employee could not be tracked.¹⁸

Under the Resolution Agreement, USC committed to three years of compliance monitoring, appointment of a Deputy Title IX Coordinator within Keck Medicine, semester self-audits of every reported sexual harassment or violence case, a review of how past supervisors handled Tyndall complaints, and expanded mandatory training for students, faculty, staff, and trustees.¹⁷

Reforms Tied to the Settlements

As part of the federal class action settlement and the Department of Education agreement, USC moved student health services from the Division of Student Affairs to Keck Medicine for direct physician oversight, revamped sensitive exam protocols, and hired more female board-certified physicians so patients could choose providers by gender. The university established a centralized Office of Equity, Equal Opportunity and Title IX, created an Office of Professionalism and Ethics as a clearinghouse for complaints, and appointed an Independent Women’s Health Advocate for a three-year term to monitor compliance.¹⁹

Announcing the state court settlement, USC President Carol Folt said, “I am deeply sorry for the pain experienced by these valued members of the USC community.”²⁰

1
New York Times. USC Settlement George Tyndall
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USC. Federal Class Action Settlement
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USC. FAQ Regarding George Tyndall Global Settlement in State Court
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Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein. USC Tyndall Class Action Settlement to Establish Institutional Reforms on Campus
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Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein. Lieff Cabraser and Co-Counsel Announce $215 Million Settlement of Class Action Lawsuit
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Courthouse News Service. Judge Ready to Sign Off on $215M Settlement in USC Sex Abuse Scandal
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Los Angeles Times. USC’s $1.1 Billion Settlements: Who Gets the Payouts and Other Details
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NBC Los Angeles. Global Settlement Reached in Lawsuits Over Ex-USC Gynecologist George Tyndall
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Manly, Stewart & Finaldi. USC Dr. George Tyndall Sex Abuse Cases
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CNN. Lawsuit: USC Tyndall Complaint
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Panish Shea Ravipudi LLP. Complaint: USC Tyndall
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PBS NewsHour. U.S. Finds Failures in USC’s Treatment of Gynecologist Claims
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NBC News. George Tyndall, Ex-USC Gynecologist, Charged With Sexually Assaulting Students
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Medical Board of California. George R. Tyndall License Surrender
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County of Los Angeles Department of Medical Examiner. Update Regarding George Tyndall Death
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ABC7. George Tyndall USC Gynecologist Criminal Case Dismissed
17
USC. U.S. Education Department, USC Reach Agreement to Confront and Prevent Sexual Harassment
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Higher Ed Dive. Ed. Dept. Forces Sweeping Changes to USC’s Title IX Policies
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USC. Institutional Reforms the University Has Implemented
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USC. Statement From USC President Carol L. Folt