By DAMIEN FISHER, InDepthNH.org
In following the law and the state constitution, Rockingham Superior Court Judge Andrew Schulman acknowledged he is failing to do justice by YDC abuse survivor David Meehan.
Schulman reluctantly sided with the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office by issuing an order that reduces Meehan’s damages award from the $38 million decided by the jury to $475,000 sought by the state.
“The court continues to believe that, if the jury accepted the gist of the plaintiff’s testimony, entering a judgment in the amount of the statutory damages cap will amount to a miscarriage of justice,” Schulman wrote in a Nov. 4 order.
Meehan testified during his trial earlier this year he had been raped by several different Youth Development Center staffers hundreds of times in the four years he was held as a ward of the state. The jury’s verdict held the state liable for the abuse, and awarded Meehan the record-setting $38 million in damages. But at the same time, the jury stated it found one incident of abuse. That contradiction opened the door for the state to seek the statutory cap of $475,000.
“The amount of the verdict–$38 million in compensatory and enhanced compensatory damages—cannot be reconciled with the jury’s finding that this liability arises from only a single incident,” Schulman wrote.
However, Schulman’s order goes on to state he is bound by legal precedent, including prior New Hampshire Supreme Court decisions, to stick with the capped $475,000. There’s nothing that will allow Schulman to override the jury’s decision, such as Schulman going back and redetermining the verdict for the jury.
“The court cannot resolve the inconsistency in the jury’s findings by substituting one judge’s view of witness credibility and circumstantial inferences for that of the jury. Put simply, this judge cannot … Replace the jury’s findings with his own, perhaps idiosyncratic, findings,” Schulman wrote.
Meehan was awarded $18 million in compensatory damages for his pain, suffering, and loss of enjoyment in life. He was also awarded $20 million in enhanced damages as the jury found the state engaged in “wanton, malicious, and oppressive conduct” by abusing its power in permitting the sexual assaults, excessive solitary confinement, and physical abuse.
But within minutes of the verdict being announced, the New Hampshire Department of Justice stated the jury’s verdict legally limits the award to just $475,000. That’s because the jury form was marked to indicate the state was liable for one incident that caused Meehan’s years of suffering and mental illness.
Once the state started pushing for the capped amount, the jury’s foreman went to Meehan’s lawyer, Rus Rilee, to say that the jury did not understand the law and did not know that the way they marked the form would limit the award.
“I’m so sorry. I’m absolutely devastated. We had no idea. Had we known that the settlement amount was to be on a per incident basis, I assure you, our outcome would have reflected it. I pray that Mr. Meehan realizes this and is made as whole as he can possibly be within a proper amount of time,” the foreman wrote to Rilee.
But Schulman wrote in his order that he is limited by a 1985 state Supreme Court ruling that allows the state to set a limit on damages in order to protect the state’s overall finances. That ruling states: “We earlier noted that the State had an interest in minimizing its liability exposure because if the State incurred significant liability, the payment of claims could impair the financial ability of the State to render governmental services. Recognizing the risk posed by unlimited liability exposure, as well as the unique characteristics of the State-tortfeasor citizen-plaintiff relationship, we hold that reasonable recovery limits are constitutionally permissible.”
New Hampshire taxpayers are on the hook for all damages as the state does not have insurance for these claims.
This is not the end of the dispute over the jury award, according to Meehan’s lawyers. Meehan’s attorneys Rilee and David Vicinanzo issued a statement Tuesday promising to file new motions in the case while slamming the state for refusing to be accountable for the decades of abuse in the YDC system.
“This is one more skirmish in a long war for David Meehan and all the victims of State child abuse. We have new motions to file this week, and more trials coming up next year. This stain on the reputation of New Hampshire will remain until the State resolves these cases fairly and apologizes, like any other decent institution that harms children,” Rilee and Vicinanzo stated.
Meehan is the first of more than 1,000 YDC survivors who are suing the state over the horrific physical and sexual abuse they suffered as incarcerated children. The state has been trying to funnel the survivors into a settlement program that’s already paid out more than $100 million, but caps the settlement amounts at $1.5 million.
Schulman’s order takes effect on Thursday, unless Rilee and Vicinanzo keep fighting. The case is likely to end up back in the state Supreme Court. Schulman does allow Meehan to collect interest in the capped $475,000 starting from when the lawsuit was first filed in 2020. That brings the total award to about $569,000.
