Parents File Lawsuit Against Westfield Schools Over Son's Suicide

WESTFIELD, NJ — After Westfield High School sophomore Carthoris "Carter" Uziel committed suicide in 2018, at age 15, the student newspaper, the Hi's Eye, ran a tribute, saying he dedicated himself to the school garden, made other students smile, loved comic books and Fortnite, and hammed it up in drama class.

But Carter also experienced instances over eight years in which he was bullied in school and even called a Jewish slur, say his parents, who filed a lawsuit against the school district, superintendent, and township on June 16.

When Uziel's father complained in a March 2016 email, according to the suit, Schools Superintendent Dr. Margaret Dolan responded, "You are the single and only parent out of the thousands of parents of our Westfield Public School students who has consistently attempted to harass and malign teachers, counselors, nurses, and administrators in three different schools over several years. In my capacity as superintendent of schools, I do not believe that the district must continue to respond to further inappropriate, intentionally offensive or harassing communications. ... [T]his email shall serve as notice to you that any emails sent by you that contain content that constitutes harassment or defamation of staff members will no longer receive a response. "

Heidi Weintraub, the attorney for parents Gene Uziel and Frances Testini, said Thursday morning, "This case is a very sad and tragic example of what can happen when a school district does not protect its students from bullying, harassment and intimidation, and what we have to do as lawyers and parents to fight for these children’s civil rights."

Carter's parents are seeking compensatory and punitive damages, and have asked for a jury trial.

The suit says that from 2010 through 2018, "Carter Uziel was subjected to an ongoing pattern of harassment, intimidation and bullying by students of Edison, Roosevelt, and WHS, of which defendants were fully aware but deliberately indifferent to, resulting in substantial harm to him and ultimately in causing Carter to take his own life.

"Defendants repeatedly failed to follow the [bullying] Policy and failed to provide Plaintiff with '[a] safe and civil environment.' ”

The suit lists several bullying instances that the parents say were reported to school officials:

• In or about Oct. 2013, several classmates hid Carter’s lunch box and threw it in the trash
• On or about Nov. 23, 2013, a classmate sexually assaulted Carter; said incident was reported in a June 10, 2014 email to Dolan and Assistant Superintendent Weissman
• Incidents of bullying and sexual harassment, as acknowledged in a letter dated June 17, 2014; these incidents were reported to Dolan
• In or about 2014, multiple incidents of bullying occurred including three (3) sexual assaults of Carter which were immediately reported to Edison Principal Matt Bolton and were further reported in a March 18, 2016 email to Dolan;
• In or about 2014, a fellow student threw an ice ball and hit Carter in the face, damaging his glasses
• On or about May 20, 2015, an incident occurred in which a fellow classmate, who had a prior history of bullying and other inappropriate behavior, pulled down Carter’s pants in class
• In a Dec. 22, 2017 email, Gene informed a school officials that “[d]uring the school year, at lunch a few of the students used racially and explicit curses against Carter. One of them called him a ‘Jewish ----’ and a few other choice words...”

It was in a March 16, 2016 email that Dr. Dolan made the comments against father Gene Uziel, according to the suit. Gene, in response, wrote to Dolan and county officials two days later, saying, “[t]his email involves no name calling, just the facts. In summation, because we believe that Carter has been inappropriately placed in an unsafe learning environment, this impedes education.”

On Thursday, the district spokeswoman, Mary Ann McGann, said the district could not comment on litigation.

The suit says that Carter's parents heard a gunshot in June of 2018 and tried to save Carter's life. They called 911 at approximately 9:07 p.m., the suit says. "Carter was taken to Rahway Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 10:03 p.m.," says the suit.

The suit says that among other damages, the parents "suffered severe emotional distress, severe permanent injuries, pain, suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, medical bills and economic damage."

In the Hi's Eye tribute, writing teacher Warren Hynes said of Carter, “I was a better teacher for having known him."

Got a news tip or just want to reach out? Email caren.lissner@patch.com. To keep up with breaking news in Westfield and statewide when it happens, and get a free local newsletter each morning, sign up for Patch breaking news alerts and daily newsletters.