News, In secret testimony, Caruso was grilled about what USC knew about disgraced gynecologist : detailed suggestions and opinions about In secret testimony, Caruso was grilled about what USC knew about disgraced gynecologist .
In his Brentwood mansion two years ago, Rick Caruso sat down in front of his iPad, raised his right hand and swore to tell the truth. Over the next nine hours, lawyers for hundreds of USC students and alumnae grilled the developer, then chair of the university’s governing board, about who was to blame for sexual abuse and harassment they said they suffered at the hands of a campus gynecologist.
The answers Caruso gave in late October 2020 at a remotely held deposition were sealed from public view by a protective order in the case and have remained secret since, even as the billionaire embarked on a mayoral campaign premised in part on his performance at USC.
A transcript of the deposition recently reviewed by The Times showed Caruso refusing to answer many questions, on the advice of USC’s legal team. With more than half a dozen university lawyers monitoring his testimony, he invoked attorney-client privilege again and again in declining to reveal discussions with administrators about Dr. George Tyndall or the conclusions of an investigation into the gynecologist’s troubled history at a campus clinic.
“Based on the advice of counsel, as we’ve talked about, I can’t release the information. I’m sorry,” Caruso replied after being asked whether women suing would ever know “who was responsible for their being sexually assaulted in the stirrups by their doctor.”
