School District Pays Record Settlement to PWRFL
Seattle Public Schools paid $16 million to settle a lawsuit brought by a former Garfield High School student who had been sexually abused over the course of several years by two of her coaches. The resolution marks the largest tort settlement in the school district’s history and serves as a profound acknowledgment of the harm endured. Attorneys Felix G. Luna, Tomás A. Gahan, and Paul G. Sewell of PWRFL represented the plaintiff in this landmark case.
The lawsuit alleged that Walter Jones, a volunteer weightlifting coach, repeatedly raped the plaintiff beginning in 2013 when she was 13 years old. According to the complaint, Jones threatened to harm the plaintiff and her family if she disclosed the abuse. Despite a prior dismissal from Ballard High School and a district designation that he was not eligible to be rehired, Jones continued to access Garfield’s facilities and students for years.
In addition to the abuse by Jones, the plaintiff stated that a second coach, Marvin Hall, initiated a sexual relationship with her when she was 17, which continued into her early twenties. Hall was a Garfield girls’ basketball coach and a member of the school’s security staff at the time. According to the complaint, the relationship involved hotel encounters during team travel and continued contact while the plaintiff attended college out of state.
The lawsuit argued that Seattle Public Schools was negligent in failing to protect the plaintiff from both coaches. District officials, including the school’s athletic director, were aware that Jones was working in an unauthorized capacity, yet allowed him continued access to the school facilities and students. While the district denied liability in the settlement, it acknowledged the seriousness of the allegations and expressed a commitment to strengthening its safeguards to prevent future abuse.
“While she is relieved by the outcome, our client will never reclaim her childhood,” said attorney Paul Sewell. “She hopes that the settlement will spark meaningful change so that no other child will ever have to suffer the same pain and trauma.” Tomás Gahan echoed those sentiments, noting that athletic environments can become breeding grounds for abuse without proper oversight. “There can’t be this environment where coaches are allowed to insulate their interactions,” he said, calling for greater accountability in how schools monitor student-coach relationships.
The district will pay $500,000 of the settlement and associated legal costs, with the remainder covered by the Washington Schools Risk Management Pool. As criminal proceedings continue, the outcome of this case stands as a testament to the resilience of the survivor and the importance of vigilant legal advocacy. PWRFL remains committed to standing with survivors and ensuring that institutions are held accountable for the harm caused under their watch.