An all-girls Catholic school in Milford has taken the rare step of filing a civil lawsuit against a New Canaan family, seeking payment of more than $20,000 in tuition even though their daughter never went there and instead decided to attend a different Catholic school.

The lawsuit by Lauralton Hall is seeking to recover the money from the Gervolino family, who in 2018 visited the well-known school and agreed to pay a $1,000 non-refundable deposit to have their daughter become a member of the 2019 freshman class. The family also looked at other Catholic schools and applied to one in the Bridgeport area, eventually deciding to attend that school.

The contract that the family signed with Lauralton said they had until June 30, 2018, to inform the school their daughter would not attend, but Kelly Gervolino said she missed that deadline because she was in the hospital for several weeks recovering from viral meningitis. She said she notified Lauralton officials on Aug. 13, 2018, that her daughter wouldn’t be attending the school.

The family understood the $1,000 deposit would be forfeited, and Gervolino said they moved on until a bill collector showed up last April notifying them they owed Lauralton $20,557 plus interest.

Gervolino contacted Lauralton officials and sent them all of her medical bills to explain why she had missed the June deadline. She said school officials told her they would get back to her but never did.

“There were obviously extenuating circumstances. It was more of an ethical issue than a legal one,” Gervolino said. “If you ever wondered why your pews are empty and you’re in financial trouble, then maybe don’t sue your loyal parishioners.”

It is rare for a Catholic school to sue a family for tuition when the student never attended the school. A review of the civil docket shows no other pending cases like Gervolino’s.

Gervolino said it was even more puzzling because her daughter decided to go to a different Catholic school in the Bridgeport area — an important distinction because the new school is in a different diocese than Lauralton. She said Bridgeport Diocese officials told her she needed to talk to the Archdiocese of Hartford about the issue since Lauralton is part of that diocese.

Gervolino said she talked to church officials at the main office and was told it’s a decision by the local school to pursue the case and there was nothing they could do to help her.

Hartford Diocese spokesman David Elliott said that the diocese would have no comment on the lawsuit. The Lauralton Head of School Elizabeth Miller could not be reached for comment.

The school filed a lawsuit in January. In addition to the tuition, the lawsuit said the family now owes the school $1,850.10 in interest.