BETHEL – A civil case against Gould Academy in Bethel has been settled with the school paying $14,500 to a Farmington couple whose son was expelled last November, according to Franklin County Superior Court documents.
Thomas and Kathy Formella sued the private college preparatory school last May on behalf of their son, Erik Formella. He was expelled Nov. 8, 2004, after he reportedly struck a fellow student with a skateboard.
Erik, who was 15 at the time, had begun attending the academy in September 2004 and was “harassed, intimidated and threatened” by the boy he struck “from nearly the first day,” according to the court brief. Others in his residential suite were also harassing him, they attested.
The skateboard incident occurred when the student followed Formella into his room while verbally harassing and insulting him, according to the court documents.
His parents contended Formella struck the boy “to fend him off.”
They said they asked numerous people at the school on several occasions to rectify the situation.
“They never took any steps to remedy the problem,” they stated in the brief. “Despite his unblemished record,” Formella was expelled, and the school refused to refund tuition amounting to $25,700 after an $8,000 scholarship.
They claimed the school was unjustly enriched, that it owed their son “a duty of care to protect him” and that he suffered emotional distress as a result of the intimidation.
The Formellas, bound by an agreement as part of the settlement, did not return telephone calls for comment Thursday.
Harry H. Dresser Jr., associate head of Gould Academy, wrote in an e-mail statement that the academy respects the privacy of its students and former students, and he also refrained from commenting on the case.
We “are saddened by the loss of any student; however, we take seriously our responsibilities to protect and set proper standards for all our students.” he wrote. “Parents are advised that the school cannot make refunds resulting from withdrawal or dismissal,” he continued.
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