Multiple Richland and Yakima agencies were given notices of claims of $50 million on behalf of William Wiley Elementary paraeducator Amber Rodriguez, who police say was killed by her ex-husband, Elias Huizar.
The Richland School District, West Richland Police Department, the City of Yakima, the Yakima School District and Yakima Police Department all received notice of claims against them regarding Huizar, who police say also killed the teenage mother of his son and took off with the child, leading to a nationwide manhunt in April.
Larsen Griffee and Pickett law office in Yakima distributed the notice, and claim, “opportunities for intervention to protect Amber and her children were simply neglected by police and school officials in an incomprehensible and unacceptable manner.”
Notices of claim are a prerequisite to a civil lawsuit being filed.
Bill Pickett, civil rights trial attorney with the law office, said because each organization involved are government entities, they have 60 days to investigate the situation on their own and determine if the case can be resolved, or if it should go to trial.
Pickett said this is a case where simple preventative measures should have been taken by those charged with a fault in Rodriguez’s death, and evidence gathered showed they could and should have taken action to protect her life, and her children.
“Our position is they all had a responsibility to prevent this, to protect her,” he said. “They utterly failed, and what we intend to do is that when the 60 days expires, we will follow suit and we will proceed to trial.”
Another requirement for claims against defendants who are government entities is informing them of the monetary risk if they choose to not resolve the case. Pickett said in this case, the risk is $50 million.
Normally, jurors decide the number, but because of state requirements, the law firm determined it for this case. But, Prickett said the money is only a substitute for the life lost and the harm inflicted on this mother and her children.
“There is no amount of money that can bring someone back when their life has been taken. Period,” he said. “There is no amount of money that can comfort these two children from having their mother taken from them.”
Pickett said the end goal is to get justice for the family and the loss they suffered, and he hopes the defendants take responsibility for the situation so similar incidents do not happen in the future.
The Yakima School District released a statement saying the claim has been forwarded to an insurer for review and processing, and said this is a preliminary step in the legal process and is not a lawsuit.
YSD also stated the claim is against the district as an entity and not any individual employee. The district said any questions regarding Huizar’s employment history should be directed to the Yakima Police Department.
RSD said it is the district’s policy to not provide comment on ongoing claims or litigation matters, and cannot provide a comment at this time.
The City of Yakima declined to comment, and Yakima Police did not respond to inquiries on the subject.
