PHILADELPHIA – Counsel for The Summit Academy say a class action, sexual abuse lawsuit brought by seven of its former residents should be dismissed in its entirety, by arguing the action fails to state claims upon which relief could be granted and is not contained in the proper venue, among other objections.
R.Q., D.B., W.M., S.C., R.B. and K.M.G. of Pennsylvania, plus S.B. of Maryland first filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District on March 2 versus The Summit School, Inc. (doing business as “The Academy Schools” and “The Summit Academy”) of Herman and John-Jane Does 1-100.
“The Academy Schools operate facilities where juveniles are held in custody in Pennsylvania. The Academy Schools offers rehabilitation, education and support services for youth through a trauma-informed approach. Established in Western Pennsylvania and managed by leaders and innovators in the field of juvenile justice, The Academy Schools are both community-based and residential, serving both local and out-of-state students,” the suit said.
“The Schools program includes room and board, clothing, behavior management individual and group counseling, academic and vocational programming, medical and dental services, as well as athletic and recreational opportunities. The School offers services for court-adjudicated youth and non-delinquent youth.”
However, the suit added that “instead of fulfilling its promise and solemn responsibility to protect these vulnerable youth, they were exposed to predators and abusers…Summit Academy failed to enact safety measures and other policies to protect the children, failed to adequately screen, hire, train, and supervise staff, and failed to fulfill its duties under state and federal law and as a result of the defendants’ misconduct, children in Summit Academy facilities have been reportedly sexually abused – often by Summit Academy staff.”
“The School serves as a custodial facility for the placement of juvenile court adjudicated youths, aged 11-18, and other at-risk youth. Founded in 1982, the School has provided juvenile residential care since its inception. It claims to assess the unique needs of each student, teach tools for success and offer meaningful opportunities for personal growth,” the suit stated.
“For the children who were abused at a Summit Academy facility, it was almost impossible to get help or stop the abuse because Summit Academy reportedly limited the contact many of them had with the outside world, limiting phone calls thereby trapping children with their abusers. Nor was there any clear and safe mechanism by which victims could report abuse within Summit Academy; as reported, those who did report were disbelieved, or worse, retaliated against, exacerbating and amplifying the trauma of the actual abuse. Many of the children who were abused at Summit Academy were vulnerable, intellectually disabled, and already fleeing from abuse. Summit Academy staff members also took advantage of children who had already been victims of sexual abuse and were at Summit Academy to seek healing.”
The suit further graphically recounts alleged, horrific instances of physical, mental and sexual abuse the plaintiffs say they suffered at the hands of facility staff:
• Plaintiff R.Q. alleged that on multiple occasions, a staff member would pull him into a side closet and hit him all over his body with a broom stick or his fists;
• Plaintiff D.B. alleged he was beaten repeatedly, suffered punches to his genitals, spanked on the buttocks and sodomized with a broom handle;
• Plaintiff W.M. alleged he was forced to perform oral sex on a staff member on several occasions, being beaten when he refused;
• Plaintiff S.C. alleged he was slapped on his buttocks before, during and after football games and practices by a staff member;
• Plaintiff K.M.G. alleged he was forced to perform oral sex on a staff member more than three times, in order to receive basic program privileges, including phone calls, food, and home passes;
• Plaintiff S.B. alleged he was smacked with a wet towel across his genitals and buttocks, and was forced to manually stimulate a staff member’s penis in the facility’s chapel;
• Plaintiff R.B. alleged he was forced to perform oral sex on a staff member more than three times, and engage in masturbation, fondling and groping with that same person in order to be able to make a phone call.
The class action suit maintained that its potential members “are so numerous that joinder of all members in one action is impracticable”, since “hundreds and possibly thousands of boys have attended the School and been subjected to the widespread abuse occurring at the school.”
UPDATE
In an April 21 letter, counsel for the defendants argued the case should be subject to complete dismissal.
“Defendant submits this letter to the Court due to plaintiffs’ failure to plead adequate facts to support their allegations; improper venue, improper styling as a class action, claims are time-barred and as to all counts, plaintiffs have failed to state a claim for which relief can be granted. Accordingly, this Court should dismiss plaintiffs’ complaint in their entirety,” the letter stated.
Defense counsel then outlined their rationales for the alleged improper venue of the case and why several of its claims should be stricken.
“Plaintiffs allege in a conclusory manner that venue is proper in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania because it is alleged that ‘a substantial part of the events and/or omissions giving rise to the claim occurred in this district.’ However, a read through the allegations makes clear that all the alleged events purportedly occurred at defendant’s school which is located in Herman, Pennsylvania – located in the Western District of Pennsylvania. As the alleged events occurred in the Western District, the case should be dismissed for improper venue or, at least transferred to the Western District in accordance with 28 U.S.C. Section 1406(a),” per the letter.
“Plaintiffs have failed to state a claim under Title IX. In order to establish liability under Title IX, plaintiffs must satisfy three different inquiries. The plaintiffs must be able to: (1) identify a person with “authority to take corrective measures in response to actual notice of sexual harassment” (the “appropriate person” prong); (2) demonstrate that the notice was “sufficient to alert the school official of the possibility of the Title IX plaintiff’s harassment;” (the “actual notice” prong); and (3) show that the authority figure acted with deliberate indifference to the notice of the harassment (the “deliberate indifference”) prong. A review of the facts as alleged by plaintiffs indicates that the complaint is devoid of any allegations of reporting or an ability of defendant to have actual notice of sexual harassment/sexual abuse. The Title IX claims must be dismissed. Further, it is to be noted that the allegations as to plaintiff R.Q. do not amount to sexual abuse, but instead purported physical assaults (without any assertion of sexual touching or abuse) and therefore a Title IX claim is not appropriate as to plaintiff R.Q.”
According to the defense, there are “no factual allegations that meet the required pleading requirements that support that the defendant hired staff members who allegedly abused the plaintiffs in a negligent manner,” and the factual allegations do not demonstrate that defendant was notified of the purported abuses – in addition, the defense argued that “there are no allegations that the employees purportedly involved had demonstrated a propensity for violence or sexual abuse at hiring or that the defendant’s management knew of the alleged abuses so as to take any remedial action that is the basis for these other state law claims.”
“This case should not proceed as a class action. Plaintiffs’ class claim is legally incapable of meeting the requirements of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23. It is clear from the face of the complaint that – even accepting all factual allegations as true – plaintiffs cannot and will not meet this burden,” the letter stated.
“Instead, there is a widely divergent class of individuals, each with a unique backstory, who attended Summit Academy for a variety of reasons. As noted previously, the alleged ‘conduct’ widely varies between each plaintiff, therefore, any resulting injunctive relief must also vary greatly. The distinct factual circumstances destroy cohesion and bar class certification under Rule 23.”
For counts of creating a sexually hostile culture/heightened risk for sexual harassment, deliberate indifference to sexual harassment, civil rights deprivation, negligence, negligent hiring, negligent retention, negligent supervision, gross negligence, negligent misrepresentation and omissions, violation of the Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law, vicarious liability, negligent infliction of emotional distress, intentional infliction of emotional distress, breach of fiduciary duty, assault and battery and injunctive and equitable relief, the plaintiffs are seeking compensatory, restitutionary, general, consequential, punitive, and exemplary damages, pre-judgment and post-judgment interest, reasonable attorney’s fees and costs, including expert fees as provided for by law, granting such other and further relief as the Court deems just and proper; injunctive, declaratory and other equitable relief; a declaration that the defendants are in violation of their mandatory reporting obligations and a complete disclosure of all records and information during the time period from Jan. 1, 2000 to the present, pertaining to the abuse of students at the school.
The plaintiffs are represented by David Wesley Cornish of Cornerstone Legal Group, in Philadelphia.
The defendants are represented by George N. Stewart, Joseph F. Butcher and Kerri Shimborske-Abel of Zimmer Kunz, plus David A. Strassburger and Kathryn L. Clark of Strassburger McKenna Gutnick & Gefsky, all in Pittsburgh.
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania case 2:23-cv-00808
From the Pennsylvania Record: Reach Courts Reporter Nicholas Malfitano at nick.malfitano@therecordinc.com