PARAMUS (NJ)
NJ.com [Iselin, NJ]
March 23, 2026
By Kaitlyn Kanzler, NorthJersey.com
Lawsuits continue to pile up against a former Paramus Catholic coach accused of sexually abusing dozens of students during his time at the school.
Attorney James Sullivan filed a lawsuit on March 19 on behalf of an anonymous former student, who said he was sexually abused on “numerous occasions” by hockey coach Bernard Garris.
The lawsuit names Paramus Catholic High School, the Archdiocese of Newark and the Christian Brothers, stating they knew about the abuse but failed to stop it.
“We do not comment on matters in litigation,” said Maria Margiotta, executive director of the Department of Communications for the diocese.
Garris has been the focus of dozens of lawsuits, and some of the lawsuits name gym teacher Donn Ernst. Garris died in 2016, and Ernst died in 2021. Garris was fired from the school in 1987 after the parents of a student demanded he be terminated after an incident that allegedly left the teen injured.
According to the suit, Garris sexually abused the former student on school grounds and on school-sanctioned athletic trips.
The lawsuit said the former student came from a devout Roman Catholic family and the defendants solicit, market and recruit families to their programs.
“[The] defendants hold out that participation in their programs and school is safe,” the lawsuit said.
The complaint said the defendants should have known Garris was sexually abusing the former student and others and “concealed important information about credible allegations of abuse” by Garris.
The suit accused the defendants of negligent hiring, supervision and retention, failure to warn and failure to implement adequate child sex abuse policies, negligent infliction of emotional distress and gross negligence.
The former student is seeking damages and attorney’s fees.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Paramus Catholic hit with more lawsuits for alleged sex abuse