CONCORD, N.H. — Attorneys for a New Hampshire man who prevailed in a landmark lawsuit over abuse at a state-run youth detention center are asking for a hearing after the jury foreperson expressed dismay that the $38 million award could be slashed to $475,000.
Jurors on Friday awarded $18 million in compensatory damages and $20 million in enhanced damages to David Meehan, who alleged that the state’s negligence allowed him to be repeatedly raped, beaten and held in solitary confinement as a teenager at the Youth Development Center in Manchester. But the attorney general’s office said the award would be reduced under a state law that allows claimants against the state to recover a maximum of $475,000 per incident.
“I’m so sorry. I’m absolutely devastated,” the jury foreperson wrote to attorney Rus Rilee on Friday evening, according to the hearing request filed Saturday.
Jurors were not told of the cap, but they were asked how many incidents it found Meehan had proven. They wrote “one,” but the completed form does not indicate whether they found a single instance of abuse or grouped all of Meehan’s allegations together.
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“We had no idea,” the jury foreperson wrote. “Had we known that the settlement amount was to be on a per incident basis, I assure you, our outcome would have reflected it. I pray that Mr. Meehan realizes this and is made as whole as he can possibly be within a proper amount of time.”
After consulting with outside counsel with expertise in post-trial matters, Rilee and attorney David Vicinanzo requested that a hearing be held Monday. According to their request, Rilee did not see the email from the juror until Saturday and did not reply.
Meehan, 42, went to police in 2017 and sued the state three years later. Since then, 11 former state workers have been arrested and more than 1,100 other former residents of the Youth Development Center in Manchester have filed lawsuits alleging physical, sexual and emotional abuse spanning six decades.
Plaintiff David Meehan, center, leaves the courtroom with his attorney Rus Rilee, right, and victim specialist Joelle Wiggin during Meehan’s trial at Rockingham Superior Court in Brentwood, N.H., April 10, 2024. The jury found the state liable for abuse at its youth detention center and awarded the sum to Meehan, a former resident who says he was beaten and raped as a teen. Credit: AP/David Lane
Meehan’s lawsuit was the first to be filed and the first to go to trial. After four weeks of testimony, jurors returned a verdict in under three hours.
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Over the course of the trial, Meehan’s attorneys accused the state of encouraging a culture of abuse marked by pervasive brutality, corruption and a code of silence. They called more than a dozen witnesses to the stand, including former staffers who said they faced resistance and even threats when they raised or investigated concerns, a former resident who described being gang-raped in a stairwell, and a teacher who said she spotted suspicious bruises on Meehan and half a dozen other boys.
The state argued it was not liable for the conduct of rogue employees and that Meehan waited too long to sue. Its witnesses included Meehan’s father, who answered “yes” when asked whether his son had “a reputation for untruthfulness.” Others who testified included a longtime youth center principal who said she saw no signs of abuse over four decades and a psychiatrist who diagnosed Meehan with bipolar disorder, not the post-traumatic stress disorder claimed by his side.
In cross-examining Meehan, attorneys for the state portrayed him as a violent child who continued to cause trouble at the youth center — and a delusional adult who is exaggerates or lies to get money. The approach highlighted an unusual dynamic in which the attorney general’s office is both defending the state against the civil lawsuits and prosecuting suspected perpetrators in the criminal cases.
CONCORD – While Republican Gov. Kelly Ayotte has said she opposes increasing highway toll rates across the state, the Senate voted Thursday to increase rates for out-of-state license plate holders.
It now goes to the House for consideration.
This would be a $1 increase for those who have out of state plates going through the tolls at Hooksett, Hampton and Bedford for out-of-state plates, a 75 cent hike for those taking Hampton’s Exit 2 and on the Spaulding turnpike at Rochester, and a 50 cent hike for those taking the exit off I-93 to Hooksett.
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An analysis in the bill shows that this would increase toll revenue by $53.3 million in fiscal year 2027 and go up each year to generate $81.4 million a year in 2036.
Senate Bill 627 passed on a voice vote with two Republicans, Senators Regina Birdsell of Hampstead and William Gannon of Sandown opposing.
Senator Mark E. McConkey, R-Freedom, moved to take the bill off the table and offered an amendment. He said the last time there was a systemwide increase to the turnpike toll was 19 years ago.
“I am sure we could all agree the cost of operations…has continued to escalate when revenue is not rising with it,” and he noted that with an enterprise fund, the state can only spend what it takes in.
The state has just completed a 10-year highway plan and there was a $400 million shortfall in projects that could not be paid for under the current income.
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McConkey said the measure would not increase tolls for New Hampshire drivers with a state license plate.
“Why don’t we ask our neighbors,” to pay a toll increase. “We are getting the best of all worlds,” by passing the bill, he said, including “protecting our residents” and having resources for improvements to the turnpike system.
Sen. Gannon, R-Sandown, asked McConkey if there are any studies on impacts near the border on businesses.
If implemented, McConkey said the state will be the 27th lowest in per mile cost still. McConkey said the bill would also increase from seven to 14 days the amount of time for those with NH license plates to pay for a toll adding there are other states that also have different rates for out-of-state users.
The Hampton toll cost would go from $2 to $3, while Hooksett and Bedford would rise from $1 to $2 for out-of-state plates.
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New Hampshire currently has the lowest rate per mile among states with tolls roads. The governor said she does not support a toll increase.
“We are not going to put a burden on drivers for a toll increase,” Ayotte said. “Families are struggling.”
WILTON, N.H. (WHDH) – A woman died in a Wilton, New Hampshire, house fire Wednesday morning, according to the New Hampshire State Fire Marshal’s Office.
At 9:08 a.m., Wilton firefighters responded to Burns Hill Road after a caller said their home was filling up with smoke. When they arrived, a single-family home was on fire and they found out two people were still inside on the second floor.
A man and a woman were both taken out of the house by firefighters and taken to Elliott Hospital. The woman was pronounced dead and the man is in serious condition.
Officials have not released the name of the victim at this time.
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At this time, investigators are looking into the cause of the fire and are trying to determine if a power outage in the area played a factor. The fire is not currently considered suspicious.
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