Moreno Valley Unified pays family $27 million for the death of Diego Stolz

Four years after middle schoolers killed Diego Stolz, the Moreno Valley Unified School District has agreed to pay the 13-year-old's family $27 million. 

According to the family's lawyers, this is the largest bullying-related settlement in the nation. 

Stolz was attending Landmark Middle School in 2019 when two students sucker-punched him in the face. The last punch knocked the 13-year-old to the ground and hit his head on a concrete pillar. According to the law firm, one of the bullies continued to punch Stolz in the face. Stolz suffered a major traumatic brain injury and died nine days later. 

David Ring, the lead attorney on the case, said Stolz's family told the school that their nephew had been bulled and punched on several occasions. The administration promised the family the bullies would be suspended from the school if nothing happened. 

"The Friday before Diego was killed, Diego and his adult sister went and met with the assistant principal," said Ring. "They never did anything. They just put it at the bottom of their stack and said we'll deal with it later."

The 14-year-olds involved in the bullying were sentenced to probation, anger management and served just over a month in juvenile hall. 

"It's just a slap in the face," said one parent who lived near the middle school. 

In the wake of Stolz's death, Landmark Middle School created a new bully reporting system and provided more training to employees. 

"They want their son back and that's obviously not going to happen," said Ring. "So really, what the wanted to use this lawsuit for was to be a vehicle to bring about change, and they did. 

The family also inspired a new piece of legislation authored by Eloise Reyes Gomez, which allows legal guardians to bring civil action in wrongful death cases.