“Duped.” “Devastated.” “Sickened.” That’s how a jury foreperson felt after learning that the amount awarded in a landmark lawsuit over abuse at New Hampshire’s youth detention center could be slashed by nearly 99%.
A jury on Friday awarded $38 million 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. But the attorney general’s office is seeking to reduce the award under a state law that allows claimants against the state to recover a maximum of $475,000 per “incident.”
Several distraught jurors have since contacted Meehan’s attorneys, including one who said the state is misinterpreting the verdict. The lawyers have requested an emergency hearing to address what they characterized as confusion over the verdict form.
