NEWARK (NJ)
Patch [NJ]
October 29, 2025
By Jack Slocum
The defense calls the jury’s verdict and the victim’s $5 million payout a “miscarriage of justice.”
MORRISTOWN, NJ — Delbarton School, operated by the Order of St. Benedict of New Jersey (OSBNJ), has demanded a new trial after it was found responsible for the sexual assault of a student decades ago.
On Oct. 9, in a historic case, OSBNJ and Delbarton were ordered to pay what they call a “grossly excessive” $5 million in compensatory damages to a former student who was sexually abused by a school staff member. The jury found the OSBNJ 65 percent liable for the abuse and a staff member 35 percent liable. No punitive damages were awarded.
The school has now filed for a new case, claiming that the language used in court, in addition to several other factors, “irreparably tainted the jury’s perception of the case,” resulting in a “miscarriage of justice.”
Specifically, OSBNJ argues that the terms “rape” and “blitz rape” used by the plaintiff’s counsel over the course of the trial were “intentional and inflammatory.” The church argues that the language was not necessary during a civil trial where “criminal liability is not an issue.”
Another argument the school has issues with is the plaintiff’s counsel’s mention of a former alleged victim’s suicide, claiming that there was no evidence to support that the alleged abuse had anything to do with the anonymous person taking their own life.
Furthermore, the defense has issues with being denied six calls for a mistrial, one of which followed a juror being replaced. Court documents show that one juror had done independent research on potential penalties and shared some findings with other jurors, resulting in their replacement.
Other points made by OSBNJ in the filing include the plaintiff’s counsel’s “improper” and “tainted” closing arguments, the exclusion of the defense’s medical expert testimony, and other “cumulative errors.”
Finally, the defense calls the $5 million payout to the victim was so “disproportionate to the evidence” that a new trial or a remittitur (reduction in damages) is required. OSBNJ added that since the victim didn’t suffer economic loss from being abused, nor sought medical or mental professional help, the award of $5 million is “grossly excessive.” The defense also cited other NJ court cases in which sexual abuse victims received millions of dollars less than the plaintiff did three weeks ago.
“The cumulative effect of the errors that occurred at trial, whether through the admission of improper evidence, the exclusion of critical defense proof, improper argument by counsel, or the prejudicial conduct that tainted the jury’s deliberations, undermined the fundamental fairness of the proceedings and deprived the defendant of a fair trial,” the filing reads. “This court has both the authority and obligation… to set aside a verdict that results in a miscarriage of justice.”
Background
The suit began in 2017 when plaintiff, T.M., sued Delbarton, claiming he was sexually abused by Lott as a 15-year-old Delbarton student in 1975.
T.M. added that he was abused by the clergyman in his secluded residence on campus, where Lott is said to have “groomed other boys by providing pornography, alcohol, and illicit substances.”
According to court documents, other Delbarton administrators knew about the “illicit substances” being given to students, but no action was taken.
“OSBNJ increasingly granted Lott a significant amount of freedom that enabled him to groom and sexually abuse (T.M.) Despite having the right to control Lott in each of his roles at St. Mary’s Abbey and Delbarton, OSBNJ chose not to impose any limits on his place of residence, responsibilities, or the boundaries of his relationships with students,” the suit claims. “This freedom included the head of OSBNJ expressly granting Lott permission to move his residence to a secluded, private barn away from where other monks lived. It was at this barn, with no supervision, that he fostered inappropriate relationships with numerous students and sexually abused (T.M.)… By providing Lott with such a broad scope of authority and independence, OSBNJ aided him in his sexual abuse of (T.M.) and is thus vicariously liable for (T.M.’s) harm.”
T.M. reported the abuse to Abbot Brian Clarke, who later admitted to destroying the complaint and never contacting police, according to court documents. While Clarke died in 2019, Delbarton’s gymnasium was named after him. Lott was fired from Delbarton for “unlawful absence,” but remains an ordained priest today.
In 2018, Delbarton admitted that at least 30 students had come forward with sexual abuse allegations that took place between 1968 and 1999.
New Jersey’s Child Victims Act went into effect from 2019 to 2021, allowing people to file civil claims of sexual abuse even when the abuse exceeded the statute of limitations. Six more Delbarton alumni, in addition to T.M., came forward with their stories, prompting more lawsuits.
T.M. sought personal injury claims as a result of the childhood sex abuse, including physical, emotional, and/or psychiatric injuries, as well as PTSD, depression, loss of Catholic faith, and much more.