Key Facts
- Settlement amount
- $950,000
- Plaintiff
- Danielle Warshefski
- Deceased
- Myles Fitzpatrick, 17
- Date of death
- November 7, 2022
- School district
- Manville School District, New Jersey
- Superintendent statement
- District disputes allegations, says staff did not contribute to death
Background
A New Jersey school district has agreed to pay $950,000 to settle a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the mother of a transgender student who died by suicide after allegedly enduring years of bullying and harassment.
Danielle Warshefski will receive $603,664.78, while the law firm that represented her will receive the remainder to cover legal costs and attorneys’ fees.
According to the lawsuit, Warshefski’s son, Myles Fitzpatrick, came out as transgender in December 2020, while Manville High School was holding classes virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Current Situation
When Fitzpatrick returned to school for the 2021-2022 academic year, he was harassed, intimidated, and bullied because of his gender identity. According to the lawsuit, students routinely used homophobic slurs against him, misgendered him, told him he would never be male, and physically assaulted him in the locker room, bathroom, and hallways.
Warshefski also alleged that school officials and a teacher witnessed the bullying but took little or no action to stop it. As a result, Fitzpatrick became severely depressed, engaged in self-harm, and attempted suicide before ultimately taking his own life on November 7, 2022. He was 17.
The lawsuit also alleged that the Manville School District violated state nondiscrimination laws prohibiting anti-transgender discrimination, failed to properly train its staff to address the alleged harassment and bullying, and intentionally inflicted emotional distress by failing to end the harassment or inform Fitzpatrick’s mother despite noticing evidence of self-harm.
| Recipient | Amount |
|---|---|
| Danielle Warshefski | $603,664.78 |
| Law firm (legal costs and fees) | Remainder of $950,000 |
Impacts
According to MyCentralJersey.com, Fitzpatrick was granted permission in 2021 to use a restroom in the faculty lounge or nurse’s office to change for gym class due to bullying in the locker room. But the accommodation was later revoked without explanation, returning him to an environment where he was harassed by fellow students. Warshefski claims she repeatedly raised concerns with school officials, but her requests for virtual schooling or homeschooling accommodations were denied.
In an emailed statement to NJ.com, Manville Public Schools Superintendent Jamil Maroun said the district continues to dispute allegations that it allowed the bullying of Fitzpatrick to continue.
“The Manville school community was and remains devastated by Myles’ death, and our hearts go out to his family,” Maroun said in the statement. “While we respected the family’s pursuit of their legal rights, we continue to believe that we treated Myles with the utmost care and did our very best to address his mental health needs as much as a school system is able to do so. We also believe in our hearts that no act, or failure to act, on the part of Manville staff contributed to Myles’ tragic death.”
Future Outlook
Scenario analysis: The possibilities below are not certain predictions.
Maroun told NJ.com that the district’s insurer determined the cost of fighting the lawsuit would divert money from students and that settling was the best option. Given its obligations to students and families, he said, the district had “no other choice” but to accept the insurer’s decision.
The settlement resolves the lawsuit, but the district continues to dispute the allegations. If the district had chosen to fight the case, it could have faced higher legal costs and a potentially larger judgment, though the insurer's decision made settlement the chosen path.
The case may prompt other school districts to review their anti-bullying policies and training, but such an outcome remains speculative. The impact on Manville students and the community will depend on how the district implements any changes in the future.
Source: metroweekly.com
