The judge also agreed that the $1 million award against Brown was excessive, and Ostrove said his client is prepared to accept a $500,000 settlement, though he will press on in court for an award for emotional damages, for which there is no cap.

Once the new trial is finished, Ostrove explained, Farb will also be compensated for financial damages — the result of the loss of her job, health benefits and pension as well as her medical treatment — and he suggested that the district take that into account as legal costs mount during the trial. Ostrove estimated those costs to be about $1.7 million at this point.

"[The district] should have settled this before it went to trial and before the judge's decision," he said. "I'm hoping that it's smart enough to settle it now."

Mary Jo O'Hagan, president of the Baldwin Board of Education, said, "Because the litigation is an ongoing process, we continue to be unable to comment on this case."

An attorney for the school district could not be reached.