Judge tosses $25M jury award against Bay Shore district in Child Victims Act suit involving former teacher Thomas Bernagozzi

A Suffolk County judge tossed a $25 million jury award against the Bay Shore school district —which had been found liable for keeping former teacher Thomas Bernagozzi employed despite allegations he sexually abused students — and ordered a retrial unless both sides agree to a sharply reduced amount.

Supreme Court Justice Christopher Modelewski ruled Thursday that the payout should be lowered to $4 million, according to a transcript of the proceeding.

“The court grants a new trial on damages unless the parties agree to a reduction of the sum awarded by the jury as follows: A total recovery for the plaintiff in the sum of $4 million allocated as follows: $2,880,000 in past pain and suffering damages, $1,120,000 for future pain and suffering,” the judge said, according to the transcript.

In a letter to parents, schools superintendent Steven J. Maloney wrote, “The decision to request the trial judge to review the jury’s determination was not made lightly, as it brought renewed attention to an already challenging situation. We trusted that the trial judge would weigh all factors and determine the path forward. As a district, we remain committed to acting with fairness and understanding, while ensuring that all actions and outcomes allow our students and school district to continue to thrive."

The suit had been brought by an individual who said he was abused as a third-grade student in Bernagozzi's class at Gardiner Manor Elementary School in 1990-91. The plaintiff's attorney, Jeffrey Herman, said Saturday that he would appeal the decision and that his client wanted to continue the case.

“It’s been a long haul and he’s determined to pursue his rights,” Herman said.

Bernagozzi, 75, who taught third grade at two Bay Shore elementary schools from 1970 to 2000, has denied claims that he sexually abused anyone. He has been charged with criminal sex act with a child under 13 years of age, course sexual conduct with a child under the age of 11 and possession of child pornography. Those charges are pending in Suffolk County Court.

Prosecutors have called Bernagozzi a “serial sexual abuser” who targeted boys between the ages of 4 and 12 over his 30-year career in the Bay Shore school district.

Newsday previously reported that at least 45 sexual abuse claims involving Bernagozzi have been filed against the district under the Child Victims Act.

Verdict amount questioned

A Suffolk County civil court jury last year found the Bay Shore school district liable for negligence in supervision and acting with reckless disregard for not heeding warnings about alleged prior sexual abuse and employing Bernagozzi as a teacher at Gardiner Manor Elementary in the early 1990s.

The same jury of four men and two women, days later, determined that the plaintiff should receive $7 million for future pain and suffering and $18 million for damages from the time of the alleged abuse to the present day. That number was $4 million more than the plaintiff sought.

The Bay Shore district’s annual budget for 2024-25 is $197 million.

The district’s lawyers asked the judge to set aside the verdict on both liability and damages and order a retrial in the case.

Of the cases brought against the district involving Bernagozzi, 17 have settled for a total of $55 million — about $3 million each, according to Lewis Silverman, a lawyer for the district. Some plaintiffs received more, others got less, court records show. Three additional cases have been resolved through insurance, Newsday previously reported.

“As is readily evident herein, the jury’s verdict of $25,000,000 is grossly disproportionate to the reasonable value of the allegations within this case and to that of the seventeen (17) other CVA cases previously filed against the district and already settled,” Silverman said in his brief seeking a retrial.

Modelewski on Thursday rejected Bay Shore’s request for a new trial on liability, but said that he would have a new jury hear the case for damages unless both sides could agree on a reduced payment.

Modelewski said that the district’s brief had persuaded him and expressed irritation at the briefs filed by Herman, comparing the plaintiff's filings to the "open disobedience of court orders by the current president," according to the transcript of the proceedings.

The judge said he had asked both sides for "additional information on the settlement of similar

matters under the Child Victims Act," the transcript said.

“The defendant Bay Shore School District complied with the Court's direction," he said. "The plaintiff did not; instead resorting to a letter-writing campaign that smacks of obfuscation and the submission of verdicts and settlements in far-flung jurisdictions, many, many miles separate from Suffolk County.”

Herman on Saturday defended his court submissions.

“I think we did what we felt we needed to do,” he said. “We respect the court and we provided what we thought were the appropriate documentation to support our arguments.”