Tam Union school district loses appeal of $10M sex abuse verdict

In a divided ruling, a state appeals court has affirmed a $10 million judgment against the Tamalpais Union High School District over sexual misconduct by a former tennis coach.

A Marin County jury awarded the money to Alex Harrison, a former Tamalpais High School student, after a trial in 2022. Harrison, now in his 30s, alleged that the school district failed to protect him from the coach, Normandie Burgos, despite evidence of predatory behavior.

The jury decided that the school district was negligent, agreed on $10 million in damages and allocated 100% of the blame to the district, not Burgos.

The school district challenged the verdict in the 1st District Court of Appeal in San Francisco. It claimed that the trial judge, James Chou, gave the jury improper instructions and allowed inadmissible evidence of Burgos’ misconduct with other students, according to the appeals court.

A three-judge appellate panel issued the ruling on Tuesday. The majority rejected the appeal, finding no error by Chou.

But Justice James Richman dissented, taking the rare step of arguing a point he felt was not addressed by the district’s lawyers. Richman said the decision to assign all the blame to the school district and none to Burgos defied logic. He argued that if Burgos were blameless, then the district “could not have been negligent in hiring him or failing to supervise him.”

“Perhaps this dissent will be used by the District to seek review in the Supreme Court,” Richman wrote. “If the District does not file a petition for review, I urge the Supreme Court to grant review on its own motion.”

Lawyers for the school district did not respond to requests for comment. Tara Taupier, the district’s superintendent, said, “The ruling is under review by legal counsel and we have no further comment at this time.”

Harrison, a lawyer in Southern California, said, “I am relieved that the Court of Appeal has affirmed the judgment and that my pursuit of justice is almost over.”

Harrison attended Tam High from 2000 to 2004. He sued the school district in 2020 after a new state law gave victims of childhood sex crimes more time to file lawsuits.

The lawsuit said Burgos “began openly grooming” Harrison as a freshman with gifts and special attention. Burgos escalated to private “body fat tests” that eventually led to contact with the player’s genitals, the suit alleged. The suit said the district knew about the body fat tests in 2002 but let Burgos off with a warning.

In 2005, after more allegations surfaced, the district issued Burgos a notice of unprofessional conduct, the lawsuit said. But it was not until Burgos’ arrest in 2006 that the district placed him on leave. The district fired him in 2008.

An attempt to prosecute Burgos in Marin County in 2010 ended in a mistrial. The prosecution alleged he preyed on two students, including Harrison, but also alleged a pattern of behavior involving five students dating to 2002.

Burgos went on to start a tennis program in Richmond. In 2019, he was convicted on 60 counts of molesting players there. He was sentenced to 255 years to life in prison.

Burgos, 60, is incarcerated at Mule Creek State Prison in Amador County.

Three other lawsuits against the school district and Burgos remain pending in Marin County Superior Court.