Simpson Thacher Partner Is Plaintiff in Suit Alleging Sex Abuse Cover-up
A partner at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett has spoken publicly for the first time about a childhood trauma that spurred him to become a plaintiff in an unusual RICO suit against his alma mater, a Brooklyn preparatory school called Poly Prep Country Day.
Partner Philip Culhane is one of nine plaintiffs, three of them proceeding as John Does, who allege the school covered up decades of sex abuse by the school’s football coach, Philip Foglietta, who died in 1998, the Am Law Daily reports. Culhane says he was abused in the fifth and sixth grades.
The Wall Street Journal Law Blog posted the amended complaint (PDF).
Culhane told the Am Law Daily that he has battled depression for 20 years as a result of the abuse. But he’s done better than the other plaintiffs, who have struggled with alcohol abuse, compulsive gambling, depression and job problems, the story says.
The plaintiffs settled on a federal RICO suit after another group of alumni saw their state court suit dismissed on statute of limitations grounds. But RICO can be a risky strategy.
Courts dismissed other RICO cases alleging a sex abuse coverup at a Roman Catholic Diocese, the story says. To win this case, the plaintiffs will have to prove they suffered injury or loss of property as a result of an alleged conspiracy, according to lawyer Kevin Mulhearn, who represents Culhane and the other plaintiffs.
Culhane acknowledged in the interview with the Am Law Daily that the legal issues are tough. He explained why he decided to sue.
“It is an unspeakable atrocity,” Culhane told the publication. “I looked at my kids, and I just had to do it. Watching my 2-year-old son grow up very much took me back to myself [as] a little boy, and realizing that as a little boy, I was not able to protect myself from the abuse. Looking at my son, it was intolerable to me that I not do everything possible to make sure he is never abused.”
