Settlement Specialist Judge Oliver to Retire

Superior Court Judge Jerrold S. Oliver, an 18-year veteran of the bench with a statewide reputation for prying multimillion-dollar settlements out of overwhelmingly complicated, multiple-party disputes, plans to leave the court to become a private mediator.

Oliver, 63, who told court officials of his decision Friday, is to announce his unexpected retirement at a press conference today.

In an interview Monday, he cited the court’s rigorous time demands as the main reason for speeding up his retirement and joining a private mediation service in the county that offers greater scheduling flexibility.

His departure, effective Sept. 30, leaves the Orange County Superior Court with a seventh expected judicial vacancy at a time when a growing backlog of thousands of civil cases threatens to clog access to the courts.

Oliver, recognized as Judge of the Year in 1986 by the California Trial Lawyers Assn., has been widely credited with having relieved some of that judicial strain by overseeing settlements in cases that could have taken years to resolve in trial.

While criticized by some lawyers for a demeanor they call overly aggressive, Oliver has won accolades from many in the legal community for a unique brand of personal persuasion and command of the law in helping reach resolutions to complex disputes that have included dozens of litigants and millions of dollars in potential damages.

Major Settlements Listed

Among the settlements on Oliver’s resume in recent years: $14 million in total payments to residents near the contaminated McColl dump site; a settlement approaching $30 million for thousand of survivors who alleged that the remains of relatives had been mishandled at Harbor Lawn Crematory in Costa Mesa; the successful pretrial resolution to a $150-million lawsuit over the 1984 collapse of Anaheim-based Heritage Bank, and a multimillion-dollar pact resulting from the devastating 1982 Gypsum Canyon fire.

Just last month, the Whittier native helped thrash out an $8.5-million settlement to resolve claims against more than 50 defendants by about 900 homeowners who alleged that they had been victims of sloppy design and construction work at their Laguna Village condominiums. This week, he is working with attorneys to settle a second round of litigation in the McColl dispute.

“We’ve counted on him for a lot around here,” Superior Court Administrator Alan Slater said Monday. “He’s done a heck of a job with these complex litigations, and that’s eased the burden all around.

“It hit me like a ton of bricks,” Slater said of news of Oliver’s retirement. “I don’t think anyone around here had really expected this.”

Indeed, Oliver said in an interview just last month that he was still two years away from retirement.

Wife Is Recuperating

But he said Monday that he has realized in the last several weeks--as his wife has recuperated from surgery--that a change of pace from the court’s hectic schedule is “best for me” and would allow him more time for other interests, such as golfing and traveling.

The recent passing of a close family friend also had “a very real effect” in prompting him to re-evaluate his thinking, Oliver added: “I realized that I’m 63 years old, and there are still a lot of things I want to find time to do.”

Oliver said he plans to become a private mediator with the Judicial Arbitration and Mediation Service, an Orange County-based firm that offers an alternative to the courts for resolving legal disputes and that has attracted more than a dozen local jurists in recent years.

By retiring now, Oliver is giving up about 8% to 10% in extra retirement benefits that he would have accrued over the next two years, when he would have reached the maximum level of benefits as a 20-year member of the bench, Slater said.

Oliver said that while the pay is higher at the mediation service than in the public sector, “the economics really weren’t a factor.”

7 Open Posts by October

Slater said Oliver’s retirement leaves the court with seven judicial posts that are vacant or are expected to open by October. Other justices who have resigned or announced their pending resignations in recent months are: Lloyd E. Blanpied Jr., Betty Lou Lamoreaux, Judith M. Ryan, John H. Smith and James K. Turner.

At least two, Ryan and Turner, have said they will join the private mediation service.

In May, Gov. George Deukmejian, helping ease concerns over a local shortage of jurists, appointed three members of the local community to new Superior Court positions created by the Legislature in 1987. But legal officials locally and statewide say Orange County still needs 15 more judges to bring its court system up to speed with its caseload.

“The faster the governor can appoint them, the faster we’ll put them to work,” Slater said.