The judge who oversaw a landmark trial about New Hampshire’s youth detention center has refused to discard the $38 million verdict, saying the facility’s leadership 'either knew and didn’t care or didn’t care to learn the truth' about endemic physical and sexual abuse. A jury earlier this month sided with David Meehan, who alleged he was repeatedly raped, beaten and held in solitary confinement at the Youth Development Center in the 1990s.
In a motion filed Monday, attorneys for the state again argued that Meehan waited too long to sue and that he failed to prove that the state’s negligence led to abuse. Schulman swiftly denied the motion, ruling in less than 24 hours that Meehan’s claims were timely under an exception to the statute of limitations, and that Meehan had proven 'beyond doubt' that the state breached its duty of care with respect to staff training, supervision and discipline.
Meehan’s lawyers say multiple emails they’ve received from distraught jurors showed the jury misunderstood that question on the jury form. They filed a motion Monday asking Schulman to set aside just the portion of the verdict where jurors wrote 'one' incident, allowing the $38 million to stand. As an alternative, the judge could order a new trial only on the number of incidents, or could offer the state the option of agreeing to an increase in the number of incidents, they wrote.
Law Law Latest News, Law Law Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Source: sdut - 🏆 5. / 95 Read more »
Source: AP - 🏆 728. / 51 Read more »
Source: ForbesTech - 🏆 318. / 59 Read more »
Source: Forbes - 🏆 394. / 53 Read more »