Sex Harassment Suit Nearing Settlement
A settlement was reported near in a $15-million lawsuit by an Orange County teacher who has alleged that he was harassed after rejecting the homosexual advances of a top school official, a judge said Tuesday.
William Bartman said in his 1986 U.S. District Court lawsuit that he was transferred and harassed after spurning sexual overtures in 1983 from George Dibs, then-assistant superintendent of the Capistrano Unified School District.
The trial was scheduled to begin Tuesday, but recessed after the attorneys held an in-chambers settlement conference with U.S. District Judge Dickran Tevrizian.
The judge said the case was close to settlement, but would not reveal the terms.
“It appears the case is in the process of concluding a settlement negotiated between the parties,” Tevrizian said.
Robert G. Williamson, one of Bartman’s lawyers, confirmed that the two sides were working on a settlement that stood “a pretty fair chance” of becoming final within a day or two, but he would not comment further.
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