By DAMIEN FISHER, InDepthNH.org
Michael Gilpatrick, one of the abuse survivors in the Sununu Youth Services Center, YDC scandal, agreed to a $10 million settlement with the state after he finally got an apology.
“We are grateful for the heartfelt apology that we received from the Attorney General’s Office. We will continue to work with the criminal justice department through upcoming criminal trials to ensure the perpetrators are held accountable for the damage they caused. We will continue to advocate for the victims that have not received justice and encourage those still struggling to tell their story,” Michael Gilpatrick and wife Kelly Gilpatrick said in a statement sent to InDepthNH.org.
Gilpatrick, 41, is one of more than 1,000 adults suing the state over the sexual and physical assaults perpetrated by Youth Development Center (YDC) staff in Manchester.
Though his civil trial hadn’t yet happened, Gilpatrick has been a key witness in at least two other YDC trials. During the civil trial brought by David Meehan against the state, and the criminal trial against former YDC staffer Brad Asbury, Gilpatrick testified about the horrific abuse he suffered as a 14-year-old locked up in New Hampshire’s juvenile justice system.
David Vicinanzo, one of Gilpatrick’s attorneys, said the state finally did the right thing by one of the survivors when Assistant Attorney General Matthew Broadhead offered the apology.
“That simple act of human decency moved Mr. Gilpatrick to tears, saved the State millions, and perhaps tens of millions of dollars, by putting him in mind of settlement instead of more fighting,” Vicinanzo said. “He wanted the State to show some accountability for its horrendous conduct and empathy for his suffering.”
Meehan, the first survivor to take his lawsuit to a jury trial, was awarded a record-breaking $38 million. That verdict is being disputed by the state, but Gilpatrick was likely to get another substantial verdict if his case had gone to trial, Vicinanzo said.
“Jurors in New Hampshire really dislike child sexual abuse, and even more so when the State allows it to kids in its custody. So, if the case had not settled, a verdict could easily have been in the range of a $40+ million verdict, which with interest would have been about $50+ million,” Vicinanzo said.
The settlement isn’t final yet. Under the terms of the agreement, the $10 million needs legislative approval. That means a law passed by both houses and signed by Gov. Kelly Ayotte approving the $10 million payment. Vicinanzo said if the legislature fails to agree he is ready to go to trial in August.
“We have a very compelling case and a verdict in the high 8 figures is probable,” Vicinanzo said.
The state is trying to avoid trials, and hefty verdicts, in the civil YDC lawsuits with the YDC Settlement Fund. That fund, however, is running out of money for the hundreds of claims brought by survivors. Claim payments from the settlement fund range from $500,000 to $2.5 million, and the state has already put $150 million into the fund.
Former New Hampshire Supreme Court Chief Justice John Broderick, the fund’s administrator, recently warned lawmakers that the fund will be out of cash soon leaving survivors in the lurch.
“Should government leadership determine not to provide further funding or sufficient funding, the administrator sees this as running counter to the reasonable expectations of claimants and their counsel,” Broderick wrote in a letter to House representatives.
Without the YDC Settlement Fund, hundreds of survivors may decide to take their case to trial rather than deal with the state, opening New Hampshire taxpayers to possible hundreds of verdicts in the $30 million to $40 million range. New Hampshire does not have insurance to cover the acts of alleged abuse, and money for the victims is coming from the general fund budget.
Bradley Asbury, 70, was the first former YDC staffer convicted for the abuse. He was found guilty on two counts of being an accomplice to aggravated felonious sexual assault for his role in holding Gilpatrick down while two other men allegedly committed the rape. Gilpatrick was described as a scrawny 14-year-old at the time of the rape.
In January, Hillsborough Superior Court-North Judge William Delker sentenced Asbury to two consecutive terms of 10 to 20 years in state prison, saying Asbury’s “sadistic” crime warrants the full force of the law.
“You crossed a line that cannot be crossed,” Delker said.
Vicinanzo said in recent months, the trial track has been growing as more victims doubt the settlement fund will actually be funded adequately to get claimants an award in a reasonable time. Or they worry that perhaps it won’t be funded at all, if the legislature breaks its promise of the last few years to compensate victims of child abuse in State custody quickly and in a victim-friendly manner.
“I have counseled clients that I don’t believe the legislature would do that, but these are clients who have already been betrayed and abused by the State, so my counsel only goes so far. Still, I have confidence that our legislators, who serve as volunteers to our community, will hear and understand the case for a fully funded settlement fund as a ‘once in a century’ rare event that is just for the victims and an exercise in really good judgment for the State, because a disaster awaits otherwise.
“Right now, we have proposed approximately 25-30 cases for trial in the next 18 months, and even more in the following 18 months. We expect that number to grow if the settlement fund continues to project uncertainty and a lack of State commitment to put this scandal in the rear view mirror. Each of these cases will, by court order, go through a mediation like Mike Gilpatrick did. This track will be much more expensive for the State than the settlement fund, both fiscally and in terms of reputation. A quick and efficient and fully funded settlement fund would be a preferable alternative,” Vicinanzo said.