Orange County paid approximately $128 million in legal settlements during the fiscal year spanning October 2025 through September 2026, according to a Voice of OC public-records review published Sept. 28, 2026. The cumulative county settlement total since November 2021 has now reached roughly $386 million.

The single largest share — approximately $77 million this year — went to victims of the 2024 Airport Fire, representing the bulk of a reported $160 million total obligation to fire claimants. As of Sept. 10, 2026, the county separately reported it had paid nearly $164 million on 1,471 Airport Fire claims and about $7 million to Cal Fire, with the claims process described as nearly complete.

The Sheriff's Department accounted for nearly $19 million in payouts, including more than $4.7 million in workers' compensation and more than $700,000 stemming from employee vehicle crashes.

Claims tied to District Attorney Todd Spitzer's office totaled more than $8.5 million, comprising:

• $2.75 million to investigator Jennifer Kearns, who alleged Spitzer undermined the Grant Robicheaux prosecution
• More than $1.9 million in attorney fees for former prosecutor Tracy Miller following her $3 million jury verdict
• About $2.8 million for three other women with similar harassment-related claims

A $3 million settlement reached in September 2026 went to the parents of a jail inmate who died by suicide by choking on an orange peel.

Of the five county supervisors, only Supervisor Vicente Sarmiento responded to the Voice of OC inquiry. No public statements from county counsel or the Board of Supervisors as a whole have been reported in connection with this review.

The Airport Fire claims process is described as nearly complete. No new litigation disclosures or policy responses have been reported since the Sept. 28 publication. The scale of the cumulative total — $386 million over roughly five years — may draw further scrutiny from oversight bodies or prompt budget discussions at the Board of Supervisors.