Judge Ok’s Abuse Suits against N.Y. Private School

Chronicle of Philanthropy
August 29, 2012

http://philanthropy.com/blogs/philanthropytoday/judge-oks-abuse-suits-against-n-y-private-school/52792

A federal judge on Tuesday cleared the way for alumni of a top-ranked Brooklyn private school to sue over alleged sexual abuse decades ago by the institution’s late football coach, writes The New York Times.

U.S. District Judge Frederic Block said Poly Prep cannot automatically invoke the state’s statute of limitations to head off lawsuits because the school may have engaged in a years-long scheme to hide allegations against Philip Foglietta, its football coach from 1966 to 1991. The decision makes possible a hearing to establish whether there was such a cover-up.

“The court has basically carved out an exception on statute of limitation claims where the party has engaged in affirmative misrepresentations or deceitful conduct,” said Kevin T. Mulhearn, a lawyer for the plaintiffs.

The Poly Prep case is being closely watched amid allegations that institutions such as the Roman Catholic Church, Penn State University, and the private Horace Mann School in the Bronx long handled information about accused pedophiles, according to the Times.