A student won a judgement against a former Hopewell Valley Regional Schools teacher for sexually abusing him in the 1980s.
TRENTON -- A state appeals court has affirmed a jury's verdict that Hopewell Valley Regional Schools were not liable for damages from the sexual abuse of a student by a teacher in the 1980s.
The student, John Doe, and his former wife Jane Doe, filed suit in 2009 against the district and former teacher Matthew Hoffman, the Monday appeals decision says.
At trial in 2015, the Does - fictitious court names to protect their privacy - won $200,000 in compensatory damages and $100,000 in punitive damages against Hoffman after the jury found he sexually assaulted and abused John Doe from about 1983 until 1988.
The jury, though, found the school district was not negligent in its supervision of Hoffman, and did not violate the state's Child Sexual Abuse Act as a "passive abuser."
In 2015, the Does filed the appeal and asked for a new trial, arguing the jury's "no-cause" verdict in favor of the district went against the weight of the evidence at trial.
Using case law of prior school sex abuse cases, an appeals court on Monday said they were "satisfied the jury's determination that the district was not a passive abuser is supported by the evidence and did not result in a manifest injustice."
The Doe's lawyer, Robert F. Varady, said Monday one of the two prior cases the appeals court examined was a private boarding school, and the other involved a public school, in terms of passive abuse.
And the issue of liability for a school is the residency factor, he said. Therefore, he and his clients are considering whether to petition the state Supreme Court to hear the case.
"This maybe worthy of Supreme Court and possibly legislative review," Varady said. "It's a really a significant issue that has to be discussed."
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The lawyer who represented the district and Hoffman did not immediately return a message seeking comment. Attempts to reach Hoffman were unsuccessful.
Records show he retired from the Hillsborough public schools in December 2009, where he was a principal, after 30 years as a public educator in New Jersey. He collects an annual pension of about $56,936.
It was unclear when he left the Hopewell Valley school district.
The case had been sealed until Monday's appeal decision, which details the testimony from the trial.
It says John Doe grew up in a home where his parents had marital problems and his father abused alcohol.
It says Hoffman first sexually abused Doe in the summer of of 1982, after he'd been the boy's six grade math teacher the preceding year. Hoffman frequently appeared in Doe's neighborhood, at youth baseball games, and was a guest at the Doe house.
Doe's parents permitted him to do yard work at Hoffman's house, where the first abuse occurred in Hoffman's bedroom, the decision says. The abuse continued and escalated that summer.
The next school year, Doe's parents' marital problems and father's alcohol abuse worsened. He testified the difficult family life led his mother to be happy that Hoffman was around, because she thought of the teacher as a role model and mentor for her son.
Hoffman occasionally picked up Doe after school and sexually abused him in his car, the decision says.
Doe went on overnight, non-school trips with Hoffman to places like Hoffman's grandmother's house in Baltimore, and ski trips in West Virginia with Hoffman's family, where the abuse continued, the decision says.
The sexual abuse continued during Doe's ninth, tenth, and eleventh grade years and ended when Doe began to drive and could spend his time more freely, the decision says.
Doe married Jane Doe in 1999. As the marriage marriage deteriorated, the couple sought counseling, where John Doe learned he had issues stemming from the sexual abuse, which led to the suit.
Kevin Shea may be reached at kshea@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter@kevintshea. Find NJ.com on Facebook.