In a rare move, a San Bernardino Superior Court judge has overturned a record $113.4 million jury award to a 10-year-old former Yucca Valley boy who suffered severe brain damage and was rendered a quadriplegic from beatings by his father’s girlfriend. Judge Bryan Foster determined on October 30 that county social worker Karen Perry was in “no way responsible” for the injuries inflicted upon Noah Reed, and thus nullified the jury’s decision to hold the county responsible financially for the boy’s life-changing injuries. Noah was 5 at the time of the abuse at his Yucca Valley home in 2014. In a news release, Foster said, “Evidence establishes that there was full compliance with all mandatory duties required by the county. There is no substantial evidence to support the jury’s finding of violation of the mandatory duties alleged.” Perry worked as a social worker for the county until November 11, 2017. Noah and his mother, now living in upstate New York, were awarded $100 million for past and future pain and suffering, $9.9 million for future medical expenses, $2.9 million for loss of future earnings, and $602,625 for past medical expenses. A county spokesman said, “Clearly, the jury was outraged by what had happened to Noah, as was the county, and mistakenly directed that outrage toward the county. The judge agreed the jury’s decision was in error.”
