Concord, New Hampshire — New Hampshire Supreme Court justices heard oral arguments Thursday on a disputed ruling in a landmark lawsuit over abuses at the state’s youth detention center, questioning whether their decision could bankrupt the state or essentially let it off the hook.
Jurors last year $38 million awarded to David Meehanwho claimed state negligence allowed him to be repeatedly raped and beaten as a teenager at a youth development center in Manchester. But the state is seeking to reduce the award under the Sovereign Immunity Law, which caps individual payments at $475,000 per “incident.”
Jurors were not aware of the maximum, and Some said later They wrote “one” on the sentencing form to reflect one case of PTSD resulting from more than 100 incidents of physical, sexual and emotional abuse.
Meehan’s lawyers say that since jurors found the state was brutal, malicious or oppressive, applying the cap would deprive Meehan of his constitutional right to equal protection. In order of preference, they asked the court to let the $38 million judgment stand, allow the trial judge to limit the number of incidents, order a new trial on just that question, or order a new trial entirely.
The state says the state’s mismanagement of the facility constitutes a “single incident.” Questioning that reasoning, Judge Patrick Donovan asked whether that would severely limit the total amount the state would pay to hundreds of others who claim to have suffered similar abuse. The same law that limits individual payments to $475,000 also caps the state’s per-accident total at $3.75 million.
Dan Dean, Meehan’s attorney, said the state’s definition would pave the way for the larger cap to apply to “decades of violations.” But Public Defender Anthony Galdieri, who represents the state, disagreed, saying each case involves different circumstances.
Donovan also considered the opposite scenario, wondering whether a decision in Meehan’s favor would push the state toward bankruptcy in light of the numerous other cases yet to be decided. Galdieri said judges must take the state’s finances into account, and removing the cap would amount to an authorized appropriation of taxpayer money.
Meehan Allegations of horrific sexual and physical assaults At the Manchester facility in the 1990s he drove An unprecedented criminal investigation, Nine additional arrestsmore 1100 lawsuitsAnd the creation of A Settlement Fund To compensate the victims. Only Meehan’s lawsuit went to trial. The rest is pending pending the outcome of the Supreme Court appeal.
Thursday’s oral arguments came a day after one of the men accused Meehan of abuse He was acquitted of three counts of sexual assault By a jury who was unable to reach a verdict on five other charges. Stephen Murphy still faces charges related to two other former residents of the facility, now called the Sununu Youth Services Center, and prosecutors could retry him on the five charges for which no ruling was issued Wednesday.