A Settlement has been reached with Regents of the University of California (“Regents”) and with Dr. James M. Heaps, M.D. (“Dr. Heaps”) (collectively “Defendants”) in a class action lawsuit.  Plaintiffs allege in the lawsuit that Dr. Heaps assaulted, abused, and engaged in harassing and offensive behavior towards female patients while he was an obstetrician and gynecologist at UCLA medical facilities and that Regents failed to respond appropriately.  The Defendants deny all charges of wrongdoing and liability.

The Settlement provides a $73 million fund for the benefit of female patients of Dr. Heaps who were seen for treatment by Dr. Heaps (1) at UCLA Medical Center (currently known as Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center) from January 1, 1986 to June 28, 2018, (2) at UCLA’s student health center (currently known as Arthur Ashe Student Health and Wellness Center) from January 1, 1983 to June 30, 2010, or (3) at Dr. Heaps’s medical offices at 100 UCLA Medical Plaza from February 1, 2014 to June 28, 2018. 

As part of the Settlement, Regents will implement institutional changes to protect patients and prevent future abuse. Regents will ensure improved operating and oversight procedures for identification, prevention, and reporting of sexual misconduct in the clinical setting, including: implementing a new investigation model for sexual harassment/sexual assault; improved chaperone policies; notice to patients of reporting options; training for UCLA medical facilities personnel on provider-patient boundaries and on conducting sensitive examinations; enhanced due diligence during the credentialing and recredentialing process and in connection with UCLA Health’s acquisition of a physician or group practice; and appointment of a compliance monitor to facilitate, oversee, and evaluate implementation of these institutional changes.  A complete description of the changes Regents is implementing can be found here.

Defendants deny all charges of wrongdoing and liability.

Your legal rights are affected whether or not you act. The Settlement Notice contains information about the Settlement and the lawsuit.  Please read the entire Settlement Notice carefully.

Settlement Notice was issued to Class Members who could be identified through UCLA's records.  You are a Class Member if you are a woman who was seen for treatment by Dr. James M. Heaps at (1) UCLA’s student health center (now Arthur Ashe Student Health and Wellness Center) from January 1, 1983 to June 30, 2010; (2) UCLA Medical Center (now Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center) from January 1, 1986 to June 28, 2018; or (3) Dr. Heaps’s medical offices at 100 UCLA Medical Plaza from February 1, 2014 to June 28, 2018.

Settlement Notice was issued to inform Class Members of the lawsuit, the proposed Settlement, and their legal rights and options. It is critical that Class Members read the entire Settlement Notice carefully because their legal rights are affected by whether they act or don’t act. The women who sued are called “Plaintiffs.” The doctor and university they sued are called “Defendants.”

During varying periods of time between January 1, 1983 and June 28, 2018, Dr. James Heaps provided obstetric and gynecological services at certain UCLA medical facilities. Plaintiffs allege that Dr. Heaps sexually assaulted, abused and engaged in harassing and offensive behavior towards his female patients. Plaintiffs further allege that UCLA supervisors and administrators were repeatedly informed of Dr. Heaps’s misconduct but failed to take the necessary measures to protect his patients. Defendants deny Plaintiffs’ allegations. The Court has not decided who is right.

In a class action, one or more plaintiffs called “Class Representatives” sue on behalf of themselves and other people with similar claims. This group of people is called the “Class” and the people in the Class are called “Class Members.” One court resolves the issues for all Class Members, except for those who excluded themselves from the Class.

This lawsuit is A.B. et al. v. Regents of the University of California et al., No. 2:20-CV-09555-RGK (C.D. Cal.). The judge is R. Gary Klausner of the United States District Court for the Central District of California.

The Court has not decided in favor of the Plaintiffs or Defendants. Instead, both sides have agreed to a Settlement to avoid the costs and risks of trial and appeals. The Class Representatives and their attorneys think the Settlement is best for the Class.

You are a Class Member, and are included in the Settlement, if you are a woman who was seen for treatment by Dr. James M. Heaps:

(1) at UCLA Medical Center (now Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center) from January 1, 1986 to June 28, 2018;

 or

(2) at UCLA’s student health center (now Arthur Ashe Student Health and Wellness Center) from January 1, 1983 to June 30, 2010;

 or

(3) at Dr. Heaps’s medical offices at 100 UCLA Medical Plaza from February 1, 2014 to June 28, 2018.

If you believe you are a Class Member based on the definition above, but you did not receive a Settlement Notice containing a Claimant ID Number (at the top of the email or in the upper left-hand corner of each page of the hard-copy notice), you must have completed a Statement of Class Membership Form by June 7, 2021.

If you received a Settlement Notice containing a Claimant ID Number (at the top of the email or in the upper left-hand corner of each page of the Notice), you are a pre-identified Class Member.

If you did not receive a Settlement Notice by email or mail, you may still be a Class Member if you are a woman who was seen for treatment by Dr. Heaps (1) at UCLA Medical Center (now Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center) from January 1, 1986 to June 28, 2018; (2) at UCLA’s student health center (now Arthur Ashe Student Health and Wellness Center) from January 1, 1983 to June 30, 2010; or (3) at Dr. Heaps’s medical offices at 100 UCLA Medical Plaza from February 1, 2014 to June 28, 2018.  To participate in the Settlement, you must have completed a Statement of Class Membership Form by June 7, 2021 to be part of the Class.

If you are not sure whether you are in the Class, you can ask for free help and more information by calling the Settlement Administrator at 1-888-921-0726 or sending an email to info@UCLAHeapsSettlement.com. More details about the Class, its claims and the Settlement can be found in the Settlement Agreement and other documents available on the Important Documents tab.

Per Section 10.12 of the Settlement Agreement, all claimant-identifying information shall be protected from disclosure to the full extent authorized by the relevant laws and regulations governing the protection of personal information, including but not limited to the California Financial Privacy Act and the California Insurance Information and Privacy Protection Act and the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. UCLA and Dr. Heaps will not know whether you filed a claim.  Although certain claimant-identifying information may be provided to Regents' insurers, Regents acknowledges that its insurers will execute appropriate non-disclosure agreements with confidentiality protections limiting the disclosure of and protecting the confidentiality of claimant-identifying information. Consistent with California Code of Civil Procedure, Section 1001, nothing in the Settlement is intended to prevent the disclosure of factual information by Plaintiffs and Class Members.

All claims and submissions in the Settlement will be kept confidential by the Settlement Administrator, the panel, the Special Master, and the Special Master’s team, and will be destroyed after the claims process is over and the Settlement Fund has been fully distributed.

If you have a medical lien, some information about your claim may need to be provided to the lienholder for the purposes of resolving that lien. Class Counsel obtained an order from the Court called a Qualified Protective Order that authorizes disclosure of information under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (“HIPAA”) for purposes of identifying and resolving any potential medical liens that may be asserted against Settlement Class Members’ Claim Awards. Certain claim information is also required by California law to be provided to Defendants’ insurers, and the insurers will keep the information strictly confidential.

Monetary Benefits

Defendants will pay $73 million to settle the lawsuit. This fund will be used to pay Class Member claims. (See the answers to FAQs 10-12 below.) The fund will also be used to pay any Class Representative service award(s) approved by the Court.

Separate from and in addition to the $73 million fund, Defendants will pay the costs of notifying class members and administering the Settlement, including compensating the members of a three-person panel, comprised of a Court-appointed Special Master, a forensic psychologist/psychiatrist, and an OB/GYN, who will decide how much individual Class Members receive. Defendants will also pay attorneys’ fees and expenses of counsel for the Plaintiffs. Settlement benefits will not be reduced to pay attorneys’ fees.

Institutional Changes at UCLA

In addition to monetary benefits, the Settlement requires the Regents to ensure that UCLA medical personnel act consistently with standards recognized by applicable health oversight agencies such as the Medical Board of California and specialty societies such as the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. The Regents will adopt and implement written operating and oversight procedures for identification, prevention, and reporting of sexual misconduct at UCLA medical facilities, including:

• implementing a new model for investigating alleged sexual harassment, including alleged sexual assault arising in the patient care context;
• updated chaperone policies that, among other things, require annual chaperone training allow chaperones to report through central health system administration and not the physicians whose exams and procedures they chaperone;
• requiring that (i) every physician credentialed or otherwise permitted to practice by UCLA medical facilities will complete a boundaries training course; and (ii) every physician credentialed or otherwise permitted to perform sensitive examinations will complete a training course reflecting best practices for such examinations;
• improving notice to patients of how to report sexual misconduct in the clinical setting;
• enhancing due diligence during the credentialing and recredentialing process and in connection with UCLA Health’s acquisition of a physician or group practice, aimed at protecting patient safety; and
• appointing the Senior Vice President for Ethics, Compliance and Audit Services in the University of California Office of the President, as “Compliance Monitor” to facilitate, oversee, and independently evaluate implementation of the institutional changes at UCLA required under the settlement.

More details about these institutional changes can be found here.

How much you get from the settlement will depend on whether you filed a claim and, if you did, what type of claim you filed. The details of the claim options are as follows:

Tier 1 – Every Settlement Class Member is eligible for a Tier 1 Award payment of $2,500.

Settlement Class Members who could be pre-identified through UCLA’s records were assigned a unique Claimant ID number. If you received a notice with a Claimant ID number on the upper right-hand corner of each page, your membership in the Class is established. UCLA’s records cover the period from 2006 to June 28, 2018 at UCLA Medical Center; July 22, 2004 to January 21, 2010 at UCLA’s student health center; and February 1, 2014 to June 28, 2018 at Dr. Heaps’s medical offices at 100 UCLA Medical Plaza.

If you have not been pre-identified but believe you are a Class Member, you must have submitted a Statement of Class Membership attesting to facts showing that you are a member of the Class by June 7, 2021. 

Each Settlement Class Member who could be identified through UCLA’s records, or who submitted a valid Statement of Class Membership, was mailed a Tier 1 Settlement check. This Tier 1 payment was mailed even if you also submitted a Tier 2 or Tier 3 Claim Form.

A Settlement Class Member who accepted a Tier 1 Award remained eligible to make a Tier 2 or Tier 3 Claim, as described below. The Tier 1 Award was counted against any further awards, but under no circumstances was a Settlement Class Member required to return a Tier 1 Award.

Tier 2 – Each Settlement Class Member also had the option to submit an online or written Tier 2 Claim Form describing your experience with Dr. Heaps, the impact on you, and the emotional distress and/or bodily injury you suffered.

Submitting a Tier 2 Claim was optional and if you qualified as a Settlement Class Member, you were sent the Tier 1 Award even if you did not submit a Tier 2 Claim.

Each Tier 2 Claim was reviewed by an impartial three-person panel that included a court-appointed Special Master, a forensic psychologist/psychiatrist, and an OB/GYN.

If you submitted a Tier 2 Claim, the panel could ask you additional questions, to be answered in writing. If that happened, you could decline to answer, although doing so could affect your eligibility for a Tier 2 Award.

If the panel determined that your Tier 2 Claim is credible, and that the conduct by Dr. Heaps fell outside the scope of accepted medical standards of care applicable during the relevant time, or was otherwise actionable, you were awarded an additional payment of $10,000 (for a total Tier 2 Award payment of $12,500), subject to pro rata adjustment as detailed below. If the panel determined you are not entitled to a Tier 2 Award, you still received the Tier 1 Award.

Tier 3 – Tier 3 Claims are for Settlement Class Members who wished to provide further evidence of conduct or statement(s) by Dr. Heaps and their impact.

In addition to a Claim Form describing your experience, the impact on you, and/or the emotional distress and/or bodily injury you suffered, you could submit additional evidence of impact or damages, including, for example, evidence of medical expenses or previous formal or informal complaints. You were also interviewed by a member of the Special Master’s team about your experience and its impact on you. The interviewer then provided an assessment to the panel.  The interviewer was a neutral, trained specialist.  The purpose of the interview was to collect information about your claim—the interview was not a cross-examination.

Submitting a Tier 3 Claim was optional and if you qualified as a Settlement Class Member, you were sent the Tier 1 Award even if you did not submit a Tier 3 Claim.

Based on all information provided, the panel determined whether each Tier 3 Claim was credible and awarded a total Tier 3 Award payment between $12,500 and $250,000, subject to pro rata adjustment as detailed below. The panel determined Tier 3 claim eligibility and awards by assessing whether the conduct described fell outside the scope of accepted medical standards of care applicable during the relevant time, or was otherwise actionable, and based on an assessment of the emotional distress and/or bodily injury to you.

In addition, $5 million of the Settlement Fund was set aside for Supplemental Awards to Tier 3 claimants. The panel had discretion to make a Supplemental Award in extraordinary cases when it determined that more money was necessary to adequately compensate a claimant who was otherwise eligible to receive the maximum Tier 3 Award. The panel could decide on a Supplemental Award of any amount for an individual eligible to receive a maximum Tier 3 Award, as long as the total amount of all Supplemental Awards did not exceed $5 million.

If the Special Master determined that you were not entitled to a Tier 3 Award, you were still sent the Tier 1 Award if you were confirmed to be a Settlement Class Member.

Pro Rata Adjustments

If the total of all Tier 1, 2 and 3 Awards was less than the Settlement Amount of $73 million, Tier 2 and Tier 3 Awards were increased pro rata (by the same percentage) until the Settlement Amount was reached or all Tier 2 and 3 Awards were increased by 50%, whichever comes first. If all Tier 2 and Tier 3 Awards were increased by 50% and the Settlement Fund was not exhausted, the balance was distributed equally among all Settlement Class Members, unless doing so would result in distributions of less than $100 per claimant, in which case the remaining balance was applied to increase the distributions to Tier 2 and Tier 3 Claimants.

If the total payments for all Tier 1, 2 and 3 Awards exceeded the Settlement Amount of $73 million, all Tier 2 and 3 Awards was decreased pro rata (by the same percentage) until the Settlement Amount was reached. Tier 1 Awards were not reduced.

Liens

The amount of money you received also depended on any legally enforceable liens on the Claim Award.  The amount paid to resolve any liens for Settlement Class Members was paid out of such Settlement Class Member’s Claim Award.

Tier 1 Awards

If you received a Settlement Notice containing a Claimant ID Number (at the top of the email or in the upper left-hand corner of each page of the Notice), you were pre-identified as a Settlement Class Member through UCLA’s records and mailed a Tier 1 check for $2,500, and you did not need to take any further action. 

If you did not receive a Settlement Notice containing a Claimant ID Number (at the top of the email or in the upper left-hand corner of each page of the Notice), to receive a Tier 1 Award you must have submitted a Statement of Class Membership by June 7, 2021 attesting to facts demonstrating you were a Class Member.

Tier 2 and Tier 3 Awards

To be eligible for a Tier 2 or Tier 3 Award, you must have completed and submitted a Tier 2 or 3 Claim Form, including any supporting evidence for a Tier 3 Claim. For your claim to be valid and timely, your Statement of Class Membership and/or your Claim Form must have been received by the Settlement Administrator through this website or postmarked by mail no later than June 7, 2021.

The Settlement received final approval and is now effective. The Tier 1, 2, and 3 Settlement award distributions have occurred. Due to the status of the Settlement Administration, the time has passed to file late claims. Please do not contact the Court directly.

In exchange for receiving payment and benefits from the Settlement, you will give up your right to sue the Defendants on your own for the claims described in the Settlement Agreement. You will also be bound by any decisions of the Court relating to the Settlement. If you do not wish to give up your right to sue the Defendants, you must have excluded yourself from (opt out of) the Settlement.

In return for paying the Settlement Amount and providing non-monetary benefits, the Defendants will be released from claims relating to the conduct alleged in this lawsuit. Defendants will not be released from claims (i) based on actions by any medical practitioner at UCLA medical facilities unrelated to matters alleged in the Litigation in connection with Dr. Heaps; or (ii) medical malpractice or negligence by Dr. Heaps unrelated to any sexual conduct or physician/patient boundary allegations against Dr. Heaps; or (iii) medical malpractice or negligence by Dr. Heaps unknown to you as of the deadline to opt out of the Settlement (May 6, 2021).

The Settlement Agreement describes the released claims in further detail in Section 2.30. Please read that agreement carefully since those releases will be binding on you as a Class Member if the Court grants final approval of the Settlement. If you have any questions, you can talk with class counsel free of charge or you may talk with your own lawyer (at your own expense). The Settlement Agreement and releases are available on the Important Documents page on this website.

If you don’t want a payment from the Settlement, but you want to keep the right to sue the Defendants, then you must have taken steps to get out of the Settlement Class. This is called asking to be excluded from or “opting out” of the Settlement Class.  The deadline to opt-out of the Settlement passed on May 6, 2021.

No. If you are a Class Member, unless you excluded yourself from the Settlement, you give up any right to sue the Defendants for the claims being released in A.B. v. Regents, No. 2:20-CV-09555-RGK (C.D. Cal.). If you have a pending lawsuit against any of the Defendants, please speak to your lawyer as soon as possible; you must have excluded yourself from this Settlement to continue your own lawsuit.

No. If you excluded yourself from the Settlement, you will not receive payment(s) from the Settlement, but you will keep your legal rights to sue the Defendants.

The Court has appointed the following lawyers, known as Class Counsel, to represent the Class Members in connection with the Settlement:

You will not be charged for contacting these lawyers. If you want to be represented by your own lawyer, you may hire one at your own expense.

Class Counsel will ask the Court for payment of attorneys’ fees and incurred expenses up to $8,760,000 to compensate them for their services in this litigation. Any payment to the attorneys will be subject to Court approval, and the Court may award less than the amount requested. Any attorneys’ fees and expenses that the Court approves will not come out of the Settlement Amount, but will be paid separately by the Defendants.

Class Counsel filed a motion for attorneys' fees and expenses on March 30, 2022. You may review Plaintiffs' Notice of Motion and Motion for Attorneys' Fees and Expenses and for Service Awards on the Important Documents page. You have the right to comment on this fee request. The deadline to object to Class Counsel's request for attorneys' fees and expenses was April 11, 2022. The hearing on Class Counsel's Motion for Attorneys' Fees was May 2, 2022 at 9:00 a.m., Pacific. The Court granted the motion on May 23, 2022. 

If you are a Settlement Class Member and you had objections to any aspect of the Settlement, you may have expressed your views to the Court. Class Members could object to the Settlement only if they did not exclude themselves from the Settlement Class.

You could ask the Court to deny approval by filing an objection. You can’t ask the Court to order a larger Settlement—the Court can only approve or deny approval of the Settlement the parties have reached. If the Court denies approval of the Settlement, no payments from the Settlement Fund will be made and the litigation will continue. If that is what you want to happen, you must have objected.

The deadline to object to the Settlement passed on May 6, 2021.

By excluding yourself from the Settlement, you are telling the Court that you do not want to participate in the Settlement. For that reason, you will not be eligible to receive any benefits from the Settlement and you will not be able to object to it, as it will no longer apply to you or bind you.

By objecting to the Settlement, you are telling the Court that you want to participate in the Settlement, but that there is something about it you do not like. If you object, you are still eligible to receive payment (s) from the Settlement.

The Court held a fairness hearing on July 12, 2021 at 9:00 a.m., Pacific, at the United States District Court, Central District of California, Roybal Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse, 255 East Temple Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012.

At the fairness hearing, the Court considered whether the proposed Settlement is fair, reasonable, and adequate. If there were objections or comments, the Court considered them at that time and listened to people who have asked to speak at the hearing. The Court granted Final Approval of the Settlement. You can review the Order on the Important Documents page of this website.

The Fairness Hearing was held on July 12, 2021. 

The Fairness Hearing was held on July 12, 2021. 

If you received a Settlement Notice containing a Claimant ID Number (at the top of the email or in the upper left-hand corner of each page of the Notice), you were identified through UCLA's records and are a pre-identified Class Member.  If you did nothing, you were included in the Settlement and could receive a $2,500 Tier 1 payment if the Settlement became effective. You also gave up the right to sue the Defendants about the claims in this case and are bound by the Court’s final judgment and the release of claims detailed in the Settlement Agreement. 

If you are a Settlement Class Member who did not receive a Settlement Notice by email or mail and you did nothing, you did not receive any payment and you gave up the right to sue the Defendants about the claims in this case.

The Settlement Notice summarizes the Settlement and Class Member rights and options. More details are contained in the Settlement Agreement. You can get copies of the Settlement Agreement and more information about the Settlement on this website. You also may also contact the Settlement Administrator by email at info@UCLAHeapsSettlement.com, by phone toll-free at 1-888-921-0726, or by mail at:

UCLA HEAPS SETTLEMENT
C/O JND LEGAL ADMINISTRATION
P.O. BOX 91386
SEATTLE, WA 98111

For a more detailed statement of the matters involved in the litigation and the Settlement, you may review the various documents on the on the Important Documents tab of this website, and/or by visiting (during business hours) the clerk’s office at the United States District Court for the Central District of California, Roybal Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse, 255 East Temple Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012, File: A.B. v. Regents, No. 2:20-CV-09555-RGK, or by accessing the docket in this case through the Court’s Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER) system at https://ecf.cand.uscourts.gov.

PLEASE DO NOT TELEPHONE THE COURT OR THE COURT CLERK’S OFFICE TO INQUIRE ABOUT THE SETTLEMENT OR THE CLAIM PROCESS.

The following resources are confidential, anonymous, and available to you free of charge 24 hours a day, 7 days per week, 365 days per year:

National Sexual Assault Hotline
Toll-Free: 1-800-656-4673
Online: https://hotline.rainn.org/online

You can contact Class Counsel, and they will help you with any questions about your claim at no cost to you.

The Court appointed the following lawyers, known as Class Counsel, to represent the Class Members in connection with the Settlement: