By DAMIEN FISHER, InDepthNH.org
Claims Administrator John Broderick is gone, but the Sununu Youth Services Center Settlement Fund’s work continues as total claims awarded now exceeds $237 million.
The YDC Settlement Fund issued its quarterly report since Broderick left his post this summer showing 2,269 claims have been filed by the adult survivors of childhood abuse by state employees. The fund is currently operating without anyone staffing the top Claims Administrator post.
New Hampshire is not covered by insurance for the abuse claims, and taxpayers will ultimately shoulder the financial burden created by decades of abuse and coverup by YDC employees. The $237 million total for 419 resolved claims as of Nov. 30 includes interest for claims paid in installments. There are still 1,697 claims pending resolution representing a potential $2 billion potential liability for taxpayers.
Victims had until June 30 of this year to file a claim with the Settlement Fund, or take the state to court. Since the abuse scandal became public in 2020 there has been just one civil trial brought by a survivor, David Meehan. Meehan was awarded $38 million by a jury, but that amount is currently being disputed by the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office. The state argues it should only pay Meehan $475,000 after YDC employees raped him hundreds of times while he was a child in state custody.
Borderick, the retired New Hampshire Supreme Court Chief Justice, stopped his work in July after Gov. Kelly Ayotte pushed through changes to the way the fund operates. Ayotte’s changes stripped Broderick’s ability to work independently, and took away his authority to make final offers to the victims.
Whoever takes over Broderick’s role will answer to Ayotte instead of the Supreme Court, under the new rules put in place July 1. The next Claims Administrator won’t have final say in settlement offers, as Broderick did, either. Ayotte’s changes include giving Attorney General John Formella veto power over settlement offers.
According to the quarterly report, eight settlement agreements have been vetoed by Formella between July 1 and Nov. 30. The report also states that 77 claims have been withdrawn from the Settlement Fund process allowing those survivors to bring their complaints to court.
Under the terms of the Settlement Fund application process, survivors are required to put their civil lawsuits on hold in order to seek a settlement. If those survivors withdraw from the fund process and go back to court, their case schedules restart putting them years behind where they were before applying for a settlement.
Ayotte’s Settlement Fund changes are currently subject to a lawsuit brought by survivors who claim she pulled a bait and switch on them. Formella had negotiated with attorneys for the survivors to get them to encourage clients to seek settlements rather than lawsuits. Broderick’s independence from political pressure and his ability to make final offers was a big selling point for the survivors, according to the lawsuit. After the vast majority of survivors opted for the Settlement Fund by the June 30 deadline, Ayotte’s rushed changes went into effect on July 1.