Manhattan Judge Tosses $680 Million Sex Abuse Lawsuit against Yeshiva University

By Daniel Beekman
New York Daily News
January 30, 2014

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/yeshiva-university-sex-abuse-case-tossed-article-1.1597069

Yeshiva University High School

A federal judge Thursday tossed out the $680 million sexual abuse lawsuit brought by 34 former Yeshiva University prep school students against the Washington Heights institution.

Manhattan Federal Judge John Koeltl said the claims in the lawsuit are barred by statutes of limitation because the alleged incidents of abuse by Yeshiva University High School for Boys staff members occurred several decades ago.

"My clients are men who have been suffering for years," fumed Kevin Mulhearn, lawyer for the plaintiffs. "They deserve justice, not this perversion of justice."

Yeshiva University didn't immediately return a request for comment Thursday.

Mulhearn said the plaintiffs will "prosecute a vigorous and effective appeal."

The state statute for negligence is three years from the time of injury and the federal statute for Title IX sexual harassment is three years from the time of discovery, he said.

"The plaintiffs were aware of their abuse at the time it occurred, and of the identity of their abusers and those who employed them," Koeltl wrote in his 52-page ruling. "Had the plaintiffs approached an attorney prior to their turning 21, they could have brought their claims."

"Statutes of limitations strike a balance between providing a reasonable time for victims to bring their claims while assuring that defendants have a fair opportunity to defend themselves before evidence is lost or memories fade," the judge wrote. "In this case, the statutes of limitations have expired decades ago, and no exceptions apply."

Mulhearn argued his clients were unaware until last year there was widespread abuse and a cover-up by the school. Each only knew about his own incident of abuse, he said.

"The court has stated, in effect, if a school deliberately succeeds in the cover-up of sexual abuse, then when the cover-up is finally exposed, the school has no liability," Mulhearn said. "That is a dangerous and potentially devastating decision given the propensity for sexual abusers to operate in private and public schools."

The lawsuit accuses Yeshiva University with hiding allegations of abuse by staff members George Finkelstein and Macy Gordon, who went on to become rabbis and important leaders at the historic Jewish school.

The alleged incidents of abuse mostly occurred in the 1970s and 1980s. They included horrific sexual attacks, including a staffer sodomizing a student with a toothbrush.

The lawsuit was filed last year after The Jewish Daily Forward newspaper wrote an expose on allegations of molestation at the school.

The case is intertwined with a larger debate over statutes of limitation for sexual abuse of children. Some activists believe the rules in New York and elsewhere make it too hard for adults to sue over abuse they suffered as children.

Contact: dbeekman@nydailynews.com