Parents Of Boy, Girl At Center Of Ridgewood Fight Sue District

RIDGEWOOD, NJ — The parents of a 16-year-old boy who was severely injured in a fight at Ridgewood High School last month are suing the school district and officials because they allegedly violated their own policies regarding bullying and social media.

Fort Lee attorney Rosemarie Arnold delivered two notices of intent to Ridgewood High School Thursday stating that the boy's parents intend to sue the Board of Education, high school principal Thomas Gorman and superintendent Daniel Fishbein.

According to Arnold, the parties were negligent because they failed to "train, supervise, and/or discipline" high school faculty and did not "create, develop or implement or enforce" the school's social media harassment, intimidation and bullying practices.

Superintendent Daniel Fishbein said he would not comment because the matter "is now a legal issue and there is pending litigation."

The incident stems from a fight between two boys, a 14-year-old and a 16-year-old, Oct. 28 at Brookside Field at the high school.

The 16-year-old stood up for a 14-year-old girl who was being harassed and was told to kill herself after photographs of her were passed around on social media. He then got "massively bullied" and harassed on social media and was hospitalized for two-and-a-half days following the fight, Jason Krause wrote on the Ridgewood Class of 1987 Facebook page.

The boy's skull was reportedly fractured and he might lose vision in one eye, which was swollen shut, as a result of the injury.

Arnold said a bullying investigation was conducted according to state law and no evidence of bullying, harassment or intimidation was found.

"They found that the boy who disseminated the private photo was not guilty of bullying because it did not fit into a category as set by the state," said Arnold, who noted that the boy's mother is a teacher in the district. "Do you think that had nothing to do with it? How does a 14-year-old boy who disseminated a photo of a girl — how he is not guilty of bullying? The school is just trying to cover up what happened there because they don't want an overabundance of bullying incidents, which have to be reported to the state, because it isn't good for their reputation."

Ridgewood Police conducted "an extensive investigation" of the incident. The 14-year-old was charged with aggravated assault and simple assault. The 16-year-old was charged with simple assault, Chief Jacqueline Luthcke previously said. The fight was reportedly broadcast on Snapchat and several students witnessed it.

Arnold said the lawsuit was electronically filed in Bergen County Superior Court Thursday. She said she filed another complaint against Snapchat and the 47 unidentified students who allegedly "instigated, incited, aided or abetted or filmed" the victim's beating. Neither complaint could be obtained as of press time.

Arnold and her clients, the 16-year-old and his parents ("C.K." and "M.K.") and the girl ("Patty Poe") and her parents ("C.S." and "R.S.") are seeking damages for medical bills, pain and suffering and lost wages. They also want the district to form a committee to investigate the incidents further and implement a social media and bullying policy that is "equal to everyone."

"Most schools not only set up social media policies that they make parents and students sign, they actually enforce them," Arnold said. "Nobody enforces them in Ridgewood. The kids violate it with impunity because they know nothing will come of it. It gives new meaning to the phrase, it's all fun and games until someone loses an eye."

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