After the case was moved from Franklin County Superior Court to the federal level, defendants named in a civil lawsuit alleging former Mohawk Trail Regional School ski coach Sean Loomis groomed and sexually assaulted a student are asking that the case be dismissed due to a lack of specific details and evidence.
Earlier this year, the town of Rowe, the Rowe Park Commission, Mohawk Trail Regional School District, Mohawk Trail Regional School and former district Title IX Coordinator Leann Loomis, Sean Loomis’ wife, were named in a civil lawsuit involving the alleged sexual assault. The complaint alleges that Sean Loomis used his position as a coach, as well as his position as Pelham Lake Park manager in Rowe, to groom and sexually assault Erin Laffond, a student and member of the ski team who also worked as a lifeguard at the park.
Since then, the lawsuit has been moved from Franklin County Superior Court to the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts at the request of the town of Rowe, which is also motioning to dismiss four of the five counts of alleged wrongdoing on the town’s part, pertaining to violations of Massachusetts and federal law.
The original complaint alleges that in 2014, when the plaintiff joined the ski team as a 13-year-old eighth grader, Loomis began making inappropriate comments. This progressed into inappropriate touching and text messaging in 2015, and between 2016 and 2019, Loomis, “on numerous occasions, made nonconsensual sexual contact and sexually assaulted the plaintiff.”
Because Laffond was 16 years old when Loomis is alleged to have first sexually assaulted her, she was of the age of consent in Massachusetts. In a criminal trial, the Northwestern District Attorney’s Office would have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the relationship was not consensual. According to Greenfield attorney Jim Merrigan, who represents Laffond, the DA’s office decided that the evidence was insufficient to support a criminal prosecution, prompting him to file the civil suit.
According to court documents, Rowe requested that the case be moved from state to federal court “because this civil action arises under the Constitution and the laws of the United States.” Therefore, “the United States District Court has original jurisdiction.” The court agreed, and on Oct. 22, the case was transferred to U.S. District Court.
In U.S. District Court, the town filed its notice seeking “to dismiss those claims against them which do not apply to a municipality,” and dismiss claims against the Park Commission, as it is a part of the town and not a separate legal entity.
The town’s attorneys, Pierce Davis & Perritano LLP of Boston, wrote in a memo to the court that Massachusetts General Law allows for charges to be brought forth for sexual harassment claims at schools and places of employment, but not both at the same time. They added that the town cannot be sued on educational grounds as Mohawk Trail Regional School is operated by the school district, not the town, and the town cannot be sued on employment grounds as the plaintiff must first file a discrimination claim with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination.
Rowe is also seeking to dismiss claims pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 1983, a federal law allowing individuals to sue municipalities when government officials violate their constitutional rights. The town’s attorneys argued that for this claim to be upheld, the plaintiff must specify a town policy or practice that led to her constitutional rights being violated.
“Ms. Laffond cannot assert a Section 1983 claim against the town just because it employed Mr. Loomis, and since she fails to assert anything but conclusory allegations about the town’s negligence, she cannot make a requisite showing to assert a claim statute,” the memo wrote.
Additionally, the town is requesting that claims under the Massachusetts Civil Rights Act be dismissed “because the town is not a person.”
“This motion does not seek to dismiss the plaintiff’s negligence claim against the town at this time,” Pierce Davis & Perritano LLP of Boston wrote in a memo submitted to the court.
The Mohawk Trail Regional School District, Mohawk Trail Regional School and Leann Loomis have also submitted a motion to dismiss the case, and all counts filed against them under a provision in the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, allowing courts to dismiss cases if the plaintiff fails to “state a claim upon which relief can be granted.”
In a memo submitted to the court, the school district’s attorneys, Morrison Mahoney LLP of Boston, said the plaintiff’s claims need to show more than “the pure failure to alleviate a private harm.”
“[The Massachusetts Tort Claims Act] provides liability where a public employee is acting within the scope of his office or employment. … Here, [the] plaintiff claims that Mr. Loomis, a coach employed by the MTRSD, sexually abused her. Sexual misconduct by a teacher clearly falls outside the scope of employment,” the memo states.
The school district says the plaintiff’s complaint failed to provide any facts that indicate the district knew of the abuse and could have prevented it.
“While [the] plaintiff asserts that through his position as ski coach, Mr. Loomis had access to her at events organized as MTRS Ski Team activities, [the] plaintiff has not articulated any facts that would establish MTRSD had knowledge of Mr. Loomis’ alleged abuse,” the memo continues.
The school district is also arguing that the statute of limitations under the Massachusetts Civil Rights Act and Title IX would have expired in 2022.
The U.S. District Court has yet to rule on the town and school district’s motions to dismiss.
