Experts Weigh in on Orange County DA Settlements

In the latest of a series of payouts, the Orange County Board of Supervisors approved nearly $2 million in settlements over alleged sexual harassment involving a former prosecutor.

Clarisse Magtoto settled for $995,000 while Amy Tallakson accepted $988,000, bringing the county’s total payouts in overall related cases to nearly $13 million.

The settlement amounts were approved 3-2 with Supervisors Don Wagner and Janet Nguyen dissenting.

“I continue to believe the settlement amounts are too high and not supported by the evidence,” Supervisor Wagner told OrangeCountyLawyers.com.

Supervisor Nguyen did not respond to requests for comment.

If the cases had gone to trial, former federal prosecutor for the Central District of California Joe McNally believes there was risk that a jury would have awarded substantial damages.

“The settlement also reflects the interest in the Board of Supervisors in getting this behind the county and District Attorney’s Office,” McNally told OrangeCountyLawyers.com. “The District Attorney’s Office is an incredibly important institution in the county and the focus of the Board of Supervisors going forward will be how to work with the District Attorney to make sure this does not happen again.”

Magtoto and Tallakson accused Gary LoGalbo of sexual harassment. Read our 2023 story.

LoGalbo died in 2022 after having retired from working as a senior assistant district attorney in the Orange County District Attorney’s office.

In a statement, the Orange County District Attorney’s Office said the settlements are a condemnation of Orange County Counsel Leon Page’s actions.

“He hired an outside investigator who threatened our employees with termination if they did not participate in the investigation and promised them confidentiality,” Orange County District Attorney spokesperson Kimberly Edds told OrangeCountyLawyers.com. “Then County Counsel went on to publicly humiliate and victim-shame these women by deeming the confidential report a public document, failing to adequately protect their identities in that public document and then releasing it to the media.”

Page did not respond to requests for comment by the time of publication.

Former Orange County Supervisor John Moorlach, who served from 2006 to 2015 before becoming a state senator, was surprised by the allegations overall. “During my eight years as a county supervisor, I do not recall having to deal with similar lawsuits,” Moorlach told OrangeCountyLawyers.com. He also audited the county’s finances while working as the Orange County Treasurer Tax Collector from 1995 to 2006.

Although the county is self-insured, Moorlach said it is likely feeling the pinch. “Between this and the airport fire claims, things are probably getting a little tight financially,” he said.

In September 2024, fire blazed across 23,526 acres in Orange and Riverside counties, which destroyed 82 homes and injured 22 people who were mostly firefighters. Since then, Orange County has been actively settling claims.

“Multi-layered insurance programs and reserve funds are the usual means through which the counties insure themselves against the possible liability claims,” Heimlich Law president and attorney Alan Heimlich told OrangeCountyLawyers.com. “In spite of the fact that insurance will meet a part of the settlement costs, there is a series of settlements as were examined, that will lead to higher premium, retention threshold, and pressure on long-term funds.”

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