Jury orders New Jersey Marianist retreat center to pay $3 million to victim of 1970s abuse

A Marianist retreat house on the Jersey Shore will pay out $3 million to a woman who said she was abused at the center in the 1970s.

Ken Fulginiti, who represented the plaintiff identified as Jane Doe in the suit, told EWTN News on July 22 that a jury in Cape May County returned the seven-figure verdict for the “emotional trauma of abuse” endured by his client.

“There will be another $750,000 in prejudgment interest that we’ve sent in a motion for,” he said.

Fulginiti’s client said the abuse occurred in 1974; she filed suit against the retreat center in January 2021.

The retreat center attempted to convince the jury that it was not required to pay out for the abuse. “There were arguing that they were not liable to the extent that it happened; it was two employees of theirs that [they claimed they] didn’t know were like that,” Fulginiti said.

Fulginiti said the retreat center is facing several other lawsuits from alleged abuse victims.

The ruling in his client’s case, Fulginiti said, could impact the other lawsuits to some extent. The multiple lawsuits were consolidated for purposes of discovery, he said, but the trials themselves will be considered on an…