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18 ¦ MARCH 23, 2020 NEWS

¦ From TIME RAN on PAGE 17 The judge also wrote that there
strategy McGuigan focused on was sufficient information in the
was to made the negligence claims public realm including via media
first and foremost and forego the reports and other lawsuits that
sex abuse arguments. Citing the statute of the school should have known
limitation for when a victim that the teacher had the propensi-
In her 19-page ruling in the ty to abuse young students before
Gourd case, Arterton said the ac- of sex assault can file a 2013, the timeframe of when
tion wasn’t timely since the statute lawsuit, a federal judge Gourd was supposed to have filed
of limitation had run out. Monday granted a motion

The ruling from the federal for summary judgment on suit.
judge could have an impact on behalf of the prestigious Simonds has been accused of
attorneys down the road who de- sexually assaulting several boys
cide to pursue similar cases where Indian Mountain School. in the private boarding school

the statute of limitations plays a in Lakeville. The school reached
factor. confidential settlements with two
Gourd, a former student of alleged victims in January 2018.
the pre-K through grade 9 private boarding school, The Gourd lawsuit alleges that he and other stu-
joined many other students over the years who dents were known as Simonds’ “boys” or “pets”
claimed now deceased teacher Christopher Si- and that Simonds gave them marijuana, cigarettes,
monds sexually assaulted them. Gourd claims he alcohol, LSD and cocaine. Simonds also allegedly
was sexually assaulted when he was a student from showed Gourd and other boys pornography and
1977-1980. took photos of them to blackmail them into silence.
Gourd filed his lawsuit against the school in 2018. The lawsuit sought, among other things, compensa-
At the time, Gourd was 53 years old even though tory and punitive damages against the school.
he was required to file suit up to his 48th birthday. The judge’s ruling this week comes on the heels of
Today, victims can file suit up to their 51st birthday. numerous similar lawsuits against private boarding
In Gourd’s suit, plaintiffs counsel argued the statute schools in the state. They include a suit against The
of limitations should be removed under the doctrine Westover School alleging a teacher sexually abused
of fraudulent concealment. Fraudulent concealment a student there in 2006 and 2007; The Hotchkiss
occurs when a party conceals or intentionally sup- School, where several boys alleged a teacher abused
presses material information. them in the 1990s; and the Kent School, where a
Gourd’s counsel, Koskoff Koskoff & Bieder attor- female student alleged a French teacher repeatedly
ney Antonio Ponvert III, maintains in court papers sexually assaulted her in the 1980s.
his client didn’t know until after the statute of limi- Representing Indian Mountain are Robinson &
tations expired that the school allegedly knew that Cole Hartford attorneys Bradford Babbitt, Kathleen
Simonds was a pedophile, had abused other chil- Dion and Jeffrey White. None of the attorneys re-
dren and did nothing about it. sponded to a request for comment Tuesday.
Ponvert declined to comment for this story. Ally Morrissey is the school’s director of commu-
But, Ponvert’s arguments did not sway Arterton, nications. Due to concerns over the coronavirus, the
who wrote, “There is no genuine issue of material school is closed. Morrissey could not be reached for
fact that plaintiff timely knew that he had a poten- comment.
tial cause of action against defendant. Because it is ¦

undisputed that plaintiff was aware that he had a Robert Storace covers legal trends, lawsuits and
potential cause of action against defendant, plaintiff analysis for the Connecticut Law Tribune. Follow
cannot, as a matter of law, rely on the fraudulent con- him on Twitter @RobertSCTLaw or reach him at
cealment doctrine to toll the timing of his claims.” 203-437-5950.

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