Personal Injury Litigation - Plaintiffs
Natalie Weatherford
Recognized in Best Lawyers since 2020 Awarded Practice Areas
Biography
Natalie Weatherford is a senior partner and trial attorney at Taylor & Ring in Los Angeles, California. She focuses her practice on representing both children and adults in sexual harassment, assault, abuse and misconduct cases as well as civil rights litigation throughout the state. Natalie is a relentless advocate for survivors and her work has led to numerous record-breaking verdicts and settlements against individuals, large corporations, and school districts and administrators.
Representative successes include:
- $102.5 million verdict on behalf of two former students sexually abused while attending Dartmouth Middle School in San Jose. Listed in Top 10 Verdicts in California in 2022
- $35 million verdict on behalf of an adult woman who was raped by her adult, male track coach when she was a minor high school student at Pomona High School in the 1990s.
- $25.3 million verdict on behalf of client who was sexually abused over the course of four years at the Westerly School in Long Beach.
- $25 million verdict for a former student of Dos Pueblos High School in the Santa Barbara Unified School District who was sexually abused by an assistant coach.
- $14 million settlement in sexual abuse case against Moraga School District on behalf of two adult females who were victimized by their middle school teacher in the 1990s. Each victim obtained $7 million, which is the largest amount “per victim” ever paid by any school district in any state.
Natalie is regularly recognized for her advocacy for victims and her impact on plaintiffs’ law. Her honors and professional achievements include:
- Daily Journal Top Plaintiff Lawyers
- Daily Journal Top Women Lawyers
- Los Angeles Times B2B Consumer Attorneys of Southern California
- Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles (CAALA) Trial Lawyer of the Year Finalist: 2022
- Law360 Rising Star
- Lawdragon 500 Leading Civil Rights & Plaintiff Employment Lawyers
- Los Angeles Business Journal Women of Influence: Attorneys
- Best Lawyers in America
Natalie serves on the Board of Governors of the Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles (CAALA). As part of her leadership role, she frequently mentors young and emerging lawyers and gives talks about creating a successful career in law.
In addition to regularly speaking at CAALA conferences, Natalie has been invited to speak on sexual abuse litigation by the National Victims of Crime Bar Association and the Western Trial Lawyers Conference. Her writing has appeared in The Advocate, including bylined articles “Protecting Your Plaintiff in Sexual-Misconduct Cases” and “Seven Key Evidentiary Issues in Sexual Assault, Abuse and Harassment Cases.”
Natalie obtained her J.D. from Southwestern University School of Law, Los Angeles, California where she was a Dean’s Merit Scholar and Chair of the Negotiation Honors Program.
Overview
- Southwestern University School of Law, J.D., graduated 2011
- California, The State Bar of California
- American Bar Association (ABA) - Member
- American Association for Justice (AAJ) - Member
- Consumer Attorneys of California (CAOC) - Member
- Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles (CAALA) - Board of Governors
- California, The State Bar of California
- American Bar Association (ABA) - Member
- American Association for Justice (AAJ) - Member
- Consumer Attorneys of California (CAOC) - Member
- Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles (CAALA) - Board of Governors
- Southwestern University School of Law, J.D., graduated 2011
Client Testimonials
Awards & Focus
Recognized in The Best Lawyers in America® 2026 for work in:
- Personal Injury Litigation - Plaintiffs
Awards:
Up-and-Coming 50: Women, Southern California Super Lawyers Rising Stars: 2016, 2018, 2021 - 2022
Up-and-Coming 100: Southern California Super Lawyers Rising Stars: 2021 - 2022
Super Lawyers: 2023 to present
Los Angeles Business Journal Women of Influence: Attorneys
Lawdragon 500 Leading Civil Rights & Plaintiff Employment Lawyers
Law360 Rising Star
Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles (CAALA) Trial Lawyer of the Year: 2024
Los Angeles Times B2B Consumer Attorneys of Southern California
Daily Journal Top Women Lawyers
Daily Journal Top Plaintiff Lawyers
News & Media
Insights
Case History
Cases
- Obtained a confidential settlement in lawsuits against the LAUSD
In December 2024, Natalie obtained a confidential settlement in lawsuits against the LAUSD on behalf of former first-grade students at 96th Street Elementary School, who were sexually abused by their teacher, Louis Moreno, during the late 80s and early 90s. In October 1991, Louis Moreno was charged and arrested with 36 counts of felony child molestation involving 13 minor victims. Those charges were later amended to include 53 counts of felony child molestation involving 16 minor victims. The attorneys held a press conference that garnered coverage on KABC, KNX, KTLA, Univision, Telemundo and KNBC. The lawsuit was filed in November 2021. The trial has not been set yet.
- Obtained a $13 million verdict against Los Angeles Unified School District
In February 2024, Natalie obtained a $13 million verdict on behalf of the plaintiff, Jane Doe, against Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD). The jury apportioned 80% of the fault for Jane Doe’s damages to LAUSD. Jane Doe was groomed and sexually abused by Daniel Garcia, a nineteen-year-old special education paraprofessional at Daniel Pearl Magnet High School (DPMHS) in Van Nuys, California. Doe was fourteen years old at the time the grooming began. Before he abused Jane, LAUSD had received notice that Garcia had dated a student at the LAUSD school he was assigned to before being transferred to DPMHS. Garcia was charged with several felonies related to the sexual abuse of Jane Doe and he pleaded no contest to felony statutory rape.
- Obtained a $35 million verdict against Pomona Unified School District
In January 2024, Natalie obtained a $35 million verdict on behalf of Plaintiff Jane Doe 4, against Pomona Unified School District. Jane Doe 4 was raped by Herman Hopson, her former track coach at Pomona High School (PHS) when she was just 16 years old while on an overnight track trip. It is alleged that Hopson sexually assaulted at least four other minor, female PHS students.
- Obtained a $25 million verdict against the Santa Barbara Unified School District
In December 2023, Natalie obtained a $25 million verdict against the Santa Barbara Unified School District (SBUSD) for the sexual abuse of Plaintiff John Doe 2 throughout 2008-2011. John Doe 2 was sexually abused by SBUSD security guard and assistant football coach, Justin Sell at Dos Pueblos High School in Goleta, California. Sell groomed and sexually abused John Doe 2 beginning when the Plaintiff was 14 years old.
- Obtained a $102.5 million verdict for two female students who were sexually abused by their music teacher
In March 2022, Natalie obtained a $102.5 million verdict for two female Dartmouth Middle School students who were sexually abused by Samuel Neipp, a music teacher. Natalie and attorney Lauren Cerri of Corsiglia, McMahon & Allard represented the two women through the five-week-long jury trial against the Union School District (USD). Natalie represented one victim of Neipp who sexually abused her for three years with no intervention from USD administrators, despite those administrators having witnessed them alone together on multiple occasions and having received several complaints from parents about him. The $37 million award to Natalie’s client was part of a total $102.5 million verdict divided between the two victims of Neipp. In 2017, Neipp was arrested and sentenced to 52 years in prison. This verdict was named to the TopVerdict Top 10 Verdicts in California in 2022.
- Secured a $5 million settlement on behalf of child who was sexually abused by her junior high school teacher
Natalie secured a $5 million settlement on behalf of child who was sexually abused by her junior high school teacher. The litigation of this case led to the enactment of Civil Code Section 1708.5.5 and Evidence Code Section 1106(c) which changed the laws regarding consent evidence for minors in California S.M. v. Los Angeles Unified School District, Elkis Hermida.
- Obtained a $5 million settlement for a female trainee truck driver who was raped by her supervising co-driver
In March 2021, Natalie and attorney John Taylor obtained a $5 million settlement, the largest in the nation for a female trainee truck driver who was raped by her supervising co-driver. Natalie and John represented Jane Doe in the lawsuit against CRST, a national long-haul truck driving service, and Eric Horton, her CRST driving instructor. CRST has a lengthy history of sexual assault complaints – receiving hundreds of complaints from women each year. Despite an EEOC and class actions against CRST, the company has failed to take any significant steps to investigate the complaints properly and more importantly, to prevent sexual assault by driver supervisors against female students.
- Obtained a $1 million settlement on behalf of Jane Doe against Covina Valley Unified School District
In July 2021, Natalie obtained a settlement of $1 million on behalf of Jane Doe against Covina Valley Unified School District and Jason Van Duyne. Doe, a high school student, was sexually abused by her history teacher, Van Duyne, beginning when she was 15 years old. Duyne, who was 31 years old at the time, began grooming Doe by paying special attention to her, complimenting her on her appearance and inviting her to spend time with him during lunch and after school in his classroom. This eventually led to sexual encounters that occurred numerous times on and off campus. As a result of the abuse, Doe has been intensely emotionally damaged and has been diagnosed with PTSD.
- Obtained a multimillion-dollar settlement on behalf of a woman who was raped at her job
In April 2018, Natalie obtained a multimillion-dollar settlement on behalf of a woman who was raped at her job during an armed robbery. The victim was a manager at clothing store located in a shopping center in West Los Angeles, California, and the robbery and rape occurred while she was closing the store for the evening. Non-violent crimes had occurred on the premises before, yet the shopping center failed to increase security or address the cause of increased illegal activity. Natalie sued the shopping center on the victim’s behalf, arguing that it had a responsibility to provide a safe work environment for employees on the property.
- Obtained an $8.5 million settlement on behalf of two plaintiffs who were sexually assaulted by their high school coaches
In September 2022, Natalie obtained an $8.5 million settlement on behalf of two plaintiffs who were sexually assaulted by their high school coaches in the mid-90s. The two plaintiffs were 14 and 15 years old at the time and sexually assaulted by the basketball coach and track and field coach. It was uncovered that these coaches had engaged in inappropriate behavior with other minor female students and despite this being known by students and high school personnel, nothing was done to further investigate or prevent these coaches from having close contact with the female students.
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