Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress

August 8, 2017

District Court Allows Football Player’s Massachusetts Sexual Assault Lawsuit to Move Forward

A former student and his parents filed a federal lawsuit alleging that the Chelmsford public school system and its employees failed to take sufficient steps to protect the student from a sexual assault at a school-sponsored football camp and from subsequent bullying and harassment by teachers and other students at Chelmsford High School (CHS). The case alleges negligence, among other federal and state law violations. The defendants–the Town of Chelmsford, the Chelmsford School Committee (CSC), and various other school officials–moved to dismiss. Last month, the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts granted in part and denied in part the motions to dismiss.The case alleges that for years, CHS embraced a culture that put winning first and encouraged bullying and harassment of student-athletes to make them “tough enough” to win championships. The Town, the CSC, and the former Superintendent allegedly knew about and condoned this “winning” sports culture, in which ordinary rules did not apply to star athletes.

In September 2012, the victim enrolled as a freshman at CHS. He was a special-needs student with an Individualized Education Plan under the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). In October 2012, during freshman football, three students forced another student to urinate in the victim’s cleats. The family reported the incident to the athletic director, and the three students were suspended for one game.

In August 2013, CHS held its annual football camp at Camp Robindel in New Hampshire. The students stayed in bunkhouses with no regular adult supervision, despite CHS having knowledge of hazing and bullying that took place at past football camps. In the bunkhouse, the victim was hit in the face with powder, and the video recording was posted to social media. He had his food, iPod, and cellphone stolen. He was pelted with milk and repeatedly picked up by his underwear. The lawsuit alleges the hazing culminated in at least three of the victim’s teammates holding him down and raping him with a broomstick.

March 8, 2017

Mother of New Hampshire Man Killed by Police Files Suit

by Neumann Law Group

Roughly a year and a half ago, Haverhill police officers shot and killed a 42-year-old man after he crashed his car in Bath, New Hampshire. His mother has filed suit against the police department and the individual officers involved in federal court, arguing there was no imminent risk to the officers’ safety. She is suing individually and as the executor of her son’s estate.The case was originally filed in Grafton County Superior Court, but it was recently transferred to U.S. District Court. The mother is suing for wrongful death, violations of civil rights, civil conspiracy, negligent supervision and training, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and battery. In addition, she alleges that law enforcement violated police protocol. As defendants, she lists the Haverhill Police Department, the Grafton County Sheriff’s Office, two officers, and a sergeant. She alleges that the department’s unconstitutional policies resulted in the July 2015 shooting of her son.

November 9, 2016

Student Sues Northeastern University For Mishandling of Sexual Assault Case

by Neumann Law Group

Northeastern Student Morgan Helfman, 21, recently sued the university for mishandling her 2013 rape case and failing to protect students from sexual assault. Helfman filed suit last month in Suffolk Superior Court for punitive damages and attorneys’ fees.Helfman alleged that she was raped by another student in her freshman dorm after he took her home from a Halloween party, at which alcohol was served despite the fact that the host was a residential assistant and many students were underage. Helfman claimed that the university inappropriately handled the incident and unjustly exonerated the alleged perpetrator.

June 21, 2016

Massachusetts Court of Appeals Upholds Multi-million Dollar Judgment for Victims of Sexual Abuse by Father

by Neumann Law Group

The Massachusetts Court of Appeals recently upheld a multi-million dollar judgment in favor of two daughters sexually abused by their father continuously for several years.Defendant William Kelley sexually molested and abused his two daughters, identified in court fillings as B.K. and W.K., on myriad occasions. He allegedly molested B.K. 3-5 times per week when she was between the ages of 12 and 15, and he continued to molest her on occasion when she was 16 and 17. Kelley would enter B.K.’s room almost nightly, undress, get into her bed, and fondle her. He encouraged her to masturbate and sleep in the nude, and he explained to her how to give a hand job.