December 8, 2025

Progress in court as we near end of year

To Our Clients—

It’s been a busy few weeks in court! We have several updates to report on the litigation front, along with some progress on the settlement fund side. Our Nixon/Rilee team is keeping a close eye on these developments and advocating for you every step of the way.

Recently, some former YDC workers and their supporters have used the media to publicly deny the validity of your experiences in state custody. We can’t speculate about the motives behind these statements. What we can say is that the facts are on our side: multiple convictions for ex-YDC staff, a $38 million award in David Meehan’s trial, $150 million in approved Settlement Fund payments and, most importantly, your first-hand accounts. No matter what irresponsible claims are made in the media, the truth will prevail. We continue to fight every day to ensure you get the justice you deserve, and that your voices are heard—in the media, in court, and in your communities.

Class action lawsuit challenging Settlement Fund Changes

We officially have a new judge in the case involving our class action lawsuit against the state. This lawsuit challenges the state’s unfair and problematic changes to the Settlement Fund (i.e., making the fund administrator a political appointee and giving the state power to veto awards that officials deem too high). Merrimack County Superior Court hosted a hearing on the lawsuit in which it assigned us Judge Kennedy to replace Judge St. Hilaire, who took himself off the case due to a conflict of interest. In an effort to be heard by the new judge, we filed a motion to reconsider the state’s Settlement Fund changes. Judge Kennedy is reviewing the papers and argument and will decide on this motion at some point in the future. We will be sure to update you as soon as we know the verdict.

Stephen Murphy trial

A jury in Manchester, NH, returned a split verdict in the trial of YDC staffer Stephen Murphy, who is facing eight counts of sexual assault. After a week’s worth of testimony and several days of deliberation, the jury found Murphy not guilty on three counts, and it was unable to reach a unanimous decision (called a hung jury) on the other five counts. Murphy’s most recent trial followed his initial trial on the charges of sexual assault in Hillsborough County Superior Court, which also resulted in a hung jury and therefore a mistrial. He still faces separate charges in three other YDC abuse cases. The Attorney General’s Office says it remains committed to continuing the prosecutions of the perpetrators, including Murphy.

Oral argument

Nixon Peabody partner Daniel Deane presented a legal argument to the New Hampshire Supreme Court in an appeal from the David Meehan trial and verdict. The appeal concerned whether the trial court should accept the jury’s decision and enter a $38 million judgment for Mr. Meehan. You may recall the state is trying to reduce his award to $475,000, which our team is actively fighting. This oral argument is an important milestone for all our clients, because the Supreme Court has stayed (paused) trials in most other cases until this case is settled. Once we receive a decision from the New Hampshire Supreme Court, the stay will be lifted, and trials can start again.

Since the argument, the Supreme Court has requested that the parties submit additional briefs addressing legal issues in the case. We are working on our submission and hope to have a decision from the Supreme Court in hand soon. We will let you know the Supreme Court’s decision as soon as we have one.

Merrimack cases (all group home cases)

The court has tentatively planned for two trials in 2027, and the judge will ultimately decide which cases are selected for those slots. Judge Kissinger in Merrimack County Superior Court provided this update in a recent hearing on the cases involving group homes. This hearing was an opportunity for our team and the defense to meet with the judge on the logistics for moving cases forward—it’s essentially a check in with both sides to keep the cases on track. We also have one trial scheduled in June 2026, and we’re pushing to have other cases scheduled for trial dates. The court’s decision to tentatively schedule trials is a positive sign that things are moving forward.

Thank you for your continued support and patience as your cases work their way through the legal process. Rest assured you have our whole team on your side.

As always, be sure to check Case Status regularly for updates.

Thank you,

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