By DAMIEN FISHER, InDepthNH.org

Three people who survived horrific sexual abuse while incarcerated in the Sununu Youth Services Center, then called YDC, as children say Gov. Kelly Ayotte’s budget deal violates their settlement fund agreements.

The lawsuit filed in Merrimack County Superior Court on Friday could be the first of hundreds from the more than 1,100 survivors who filed claims with the YDC Settlement Fund, possibly dooming the state’s attempt to get out from under the crushing cost of the abuse scandal. There are about 800 pending claimants who could potentially revive their civil lawsuits. 

Hidden in the budget Ayotte signed this week are two amendments stripping the independence from the YDC Settlement Fund’s administrator and curbing the administrator’s authority to make decisions, according to the lawsuit filed by survivors Andrew Foley, Ronald “Chuck” Miles, and Jane Doe #231. 

“In short, these two amendments alter the fundamental nature of the Settlement Fund—a bargain struck between the State and the victims of abuse caused by the State. If this Court does not enjoin enforcement of these two amendments, the State will be allowed to breach material terms of its agreements with all claimants, including the above-named Plaintiffs and all claimants in the class they seek to represent,” writes David Vicinanzo, one of the lead attorneys representing 1,400 YDC victims.

The budget amendments would first allow Ayotte to fire YDC Fund Administrator John Broderick and appoint a new administrator to serve at her pleasure. Under the original  Settlement Fund law, both the Attorney General’s Office and the victims, through their lawyers, selected Broderick to be appointed by the state Supreme Court. The court had ultimate authority to appoint or remove the administrator.

The second budget amendment gives the Attorney General the authority to override the Fund Administrator’s decisions when it comes to a settlement agreement with a victim. Foley, Miles, and Doe all say they openly agreed to enter the settlement fund process because they believed that Broderick was independent and could not be swayed. For example:

“Mr. Miles determined that trying the State’s Settlement Fund process would be preferable to litigation. Mr. Miles relied on the State’s assurances that the Settlement Fund process would be ‘victim friendly’ and ‘trauma informed.’ He also relied on the State’s promise that his claim would be decided by an independent and neutral decision maker with no stake or interest in the outcome,” the lawsuit states.

But Broderick came under criticism from Ayotte, Formella, and Republicans in the House and Senate for supposedly spending too much money to settle claims of child rape and abuse by state employees that was covered up by other state employees for decades. 

An audit of the fund, completed in May, found Broderick was doing a good job and following the law. The Office of the Legislative Budget Assistant audit found the fund paid more than $123 million to 296 survivors out of the total $160 million appropriated.

The settlement fund allows the victims to avoid the traumatic prospect of going to trial, and it allows taxpayers to save money. The higher end payout through the fund is set at $1.5 million. Civil trials cost more. The state’s already agreed to pay survivor Natasha Maunsell $4.5 million to settle her lawsuit outside the settlement fund process. Survivor Michael Gilpatrick got $10 million to settle his lawsuit outside the fund process.

The first YDC victim to get a civil trial, David Meehan, was awarded $38 million by the jury. He’s currently fighting the state in court, as Attorney General John Formella wants to pay just $475,000 to Meehan. 

Merrimack County Superior Court Judge John Kissinger denied a motion for an emergency temporary restraining order against the state on Friday. A hearing is now scheduled for July 8.