Verified New York settlement examples
Visitors often ask what a claim is "worth." The honest answer is that no one can promise a figure — settlement and verdict amounts turn on facts unique to each survivor, the institution involved, and how the law applies. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome, and the publicly reported settlements below are not a price list or a prediction of what any individual case will resolve for. Every case is different. They are simply examples of what some New York institutions have paid to resolve claims, each without any admission of liability.
Public schools — New York City Department of Education. According to the New York City Comptroller's FY2025 Annual Claims Report, the City has paid roughly $230 million settling Child Victims Act actions — about 225 such actions settled to date, with the number still growing. These were civil settlements in which the City did not admit liability. 3
A Queens public middle school. In one Child Victims Act case, New York City settled allegations involving a Queens public middle school (Irwin Altman Middle School 172) for approximately $1.25 million. The defendants denied the allegations in court filings, and the settlement was expressly not an admission of liability. 1
Bay Academy (Brooklyn). New York City and the DOE paid a settlement of approximately $2.4 million in 2022 resolving civil Child Victims Act claims connected to Bay Academy of Arts & Sciences (I.S. 98) in Brooklyn. The allegations were denied and the settlement carried no admission of liability. 1
Rose M. Singer Center, Rikers Island. A civil lawsuit arising from a New York City Department of Correction matter at the Rose M. Singer Center — the women's jail at Rikers Island — settled for $500,000 in February 2019. The settlement was not an admission of liability by any party. 2
A cumulative figure from the NYC Comptroller's FY2025 Annual Claims Report; roughly 225 Child Victims Act actions have settled to date and the number continues to grow. These were civil settlements with no admission of liability. It is a past aggregate, not a promise of value; prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome and every case is different.
Three quiet steps, on your terms
- 1You tell us as much or as little as you want.A confidential conversation with our team — by phone or online. You stay in control of the pace.
- 2We review whether you have a claim.At no cost, against the facts and the law — and we tell you honestly either way.
- 3You decide what happens next.If you choose to move forward, you pay nothing unless we win for you.
Sources & authorities
Cited to court records and government sources · Accessed June 2026
- [1]City & State NY — NYC paid $160 million in settlements under the Child Victims Actcityandstateny.com
- [2]The Intercept — A Rikers Island guard sexually assaulted her. The city settled for $500,000.theintercept.com
- [3]NYC Comptroller — Annual Claims Report (FY2025): Child Victims Act settlement payoutscomptroller.nyc.gov
The results above were resolved under earlier laws — chiefly New York's Child Victims Act and prior civil claims, and the Rikers matter under prior law. The GMVA provides a separate, current path for survivors who qualify, with no promise of comparable value.