ORANGE COUNTY IN BANKRUPTCY : Court Releases Settlement Funds of Mountain Lion Victim

A judge agreed to release about $90,000 from Orange County’s bankrupt investment pool for a young girl who received a $1.6-million settlement from the county after she was mauled by a mountain lion at Ronald W. Caspers Regional Park, her attorneys said Thursday.

Laura Small, 13, of Lake Forest has most of her settlement money safely stowed away in federally insured annuities, but a portion was tied up in the county’s investment pool, which suffered $1.69 billion in losses that led to the county’s bankruptcy, her attorneys said.

The fate of the $90,000 remained unclear, even though public officials vowed to fully repay minors, who are required to keep their court settlements invested until they turn 18. Minors were routinely encouraged by Orange County judges to invest their settlements in the county investment pool.

Alarmed at the county’s financial mess, Small’s attorneys in December filed suit, demanding that the $90,000 principal be returned.

They were pleasantly surprised, however, when court officials revealed that guardians of minors had only to ask to transfer funds out of the investment pool.

“It’s a real relief not to have to go forward with a lawsuit,” said Darren Aitken, an attorney for the Small family.

The Smalls “are pleased to remove any uncertainty about the future,” said Richard A. Cohn, who also represented the family in the wake of the 1986 mauling.

The county expects to pay Laura Small the interest on the investment in coming weeks.

Anthony Thompson, a Superior Court employee who administers settlements won by minors, said only a few guardians have taken advantage of the county’s offer to reimburse minors for money frozen in the investment pool.

An estimated 420 minors have a total of about $6 million invested in the pool, he said.

“We’ve been paying it out in full,” Thompson said.