Bronx School, Bergen County Man Settle Sex-abuse Suit over Allegations against Teacher from 1970s

By Kibret Markos
The Record
April 3, 2015

http://www.northjersey.com/news/suit-ends-in-settlement-with-horace-mann-teacher-accused-of-sexual-abuse-1.1302580

A lawsuit alleging years of sexual abuse by a teacher at the Horace Mann school in the Bronx has been settled for an undisclosed amount, an attorney for the plaintiff said Friday.

The suit by Fort Lee attorney Rosemarie Arnold was the only one filed against the elite school after dozens of former students alleged that they were sexually abused by teachers and staff since the 1970s.

Most of the former students were unable to file lawsuits because of New York State’s restrictive statute of limitations, which requires alleged victims of child sex abuse to file suit by the time they turn 23.

But Arnold’s client, a resident of Bergen County who remains unnamed and is now in his 50s, filed suit in Superior Court in Hackensack, where the statute of limitations is friendlier to plaintiffs. State law here requires lawsuits to be filed within two years of the alleged act, but the counting begins once the alleged victim becomes aware of the abuse. The law was designed to protect victims who might suppress memories of abuse for years.

Arnold’s client, who filed the suit in 2013, alleged that he was sexually abused by a now-deceased music teacher at Horace Mann, and that some of the sexual assault took place during school trips to New Jersey. The teacher, Johannes Somary, retired in 2002 after more than 40 years at the school. He died in 2011 at the age of 75 from stroke-related complications.

The client alleged in the lawsuit that the abuse began in 1973 while he was a seventh-grader at the school and continued until 1977. It involved more than 450 incidents, many of which took place at the Englewood Boat Basin, the lawsuit claimed.

Attorneys for the school had sought to have Arnold’s lawsuit dismissed, arguing that the school does not have sufficient ties to New Jersey to give the state jurisdiction over a lawsuit against Horace Mann. But a judge in Hackensack ruled last year that the suit can proceed in New Jersey.

Arnold confirmed on Friday that the lawsuit was settled, but declined to comment further.

A spokesman for Horace Mann also declined comment on Friday. Michael Swartz, an attorney for the school, did not return a phone call.

The allegations against Horace Mann were first reported in a June 2012 article in The New York Times magazine, in which several alumni said they were sexually abused by teachers and administrators, and that school officials failed to stop the abuse despite knowing about it. More former students came forward with similar allegations after the story was published.

In 2013, many of those former students received undisclosed amounts in compensation from the school. Arnold’s client refused to take part in those negotiations and instead filed a lawsuit.

Email: markos@northjersey.com