TRENTON, NJ – A Roselle man who says he was sexually abused by a school employee will get his day in court after New Jersey’s Appellate Division ruled this week that a new law eliminating financial barriers for victims applies to his case — overturning a previous dismissal that had favored the Roselle Board of Education.
The decision, released January 15, reopens a lawsuit that had been thrown out because the victim, identified only as C.W., did not meet a $3,600 medical expense threshold once required under the state’s Tort Claims Act. That rule prevented victims from suing public entities unless they could prove thousands of dollars in documented medical costs.
But while the appeal was pending, lawmakers changed the law. The amendment to N.J.S.A. 59:9-2(d) removes that requirement for survivors of sexual abuse, acknowledging that many victims delay therapy or never seek traditional medical treatment due to trauma, stigma, or cost.
In its ruling, a three-judge panel led by Presiding Judge Marianne Currier found that the change in law should apply retroactively, allowing C.W. to proceed with his claims against the Roselle Board of Education and the New Jersey Board of Education. The suit accuses the district of negligence for allegedly failing to prevent the abuse by employee Gilbert Young Jr.
The appellate court’s decision vacates the lower court’s summary judgment in favor of the Roselle school board and sends the case back for trial. “The Legislature made its intent clear,” the panel wrote, concluding that the amendment was designed to remove an unfair barrier that had prevented sexual abuse survivors from pursuing justice against public institutions.
The opinion marks the second time the case has come before the Appellate Division. It highlights growing momentum in New Jersey courts to expand protections for victims of sexual assault and hold schools and public employers accountable.
Attorney J. Silvio Mascolo, representing the plaintiff, argued that the original law punished victims who could not afford therapy or who avoided medical documentation due to emotional distress. Attorneys Roshan D. Shah and Todd S. McGarvey represented the Roselle Board of Education.
The ruling could have wide-reaching effects for pending and future sexual abuse lawsuits against schools and public agencies across the state, removing what advocates have called a “financial gatekeeper” that kept many victims from pursuing their claims.
With the court’s reversal, the Roselle case will now return to Union County Superior Court for trial, where C.W. will finally be allowed to present his full account of abuse and the school district’s alleged negligence before a jury.
