March 6, 2026

New claims administrator appointed for YDC Settlement Fund

To our clients—

We’re pleased to report some progress on the Settlement Fund. Attorney General John Formella announced the nomination of retired Judge Gerard Boyle as the new claims administrator for the YDC Settlement Fund.

As you know, the fund has been without an administrator since July. More than 1,500 claims have been in limbo during that time. The Executive Council is expected to vote on Boyle’s appointment March 25.

What does this mean for you?

This is a small step in the right direction to restart the Settlement Fund process. We are hopeful that Boyle will bring independence and fairness to this process, but we still have some hurdles to overcome even if he is placed in the administrator’s position.

• The state legislature will need to fully fund the Settlement Fund. At present, the fund does not have enough money to pay the awards approved by the prior administrator, let alone any new awards.
• It will take time for the administrator to restart the process of reviewing and settling claims.
• There will only be one administrator at this time to hear claims, so scheduling hearings will be slow. We will continue to advocate for more administrators to hear claims and speed up the process.
• The Attorney General’s Office will still have the power to veto the administrator’s decisions.
• Governor Kelly Ayotte can fire the administrator if she does not like how he is doing his job.
• The previous two items are addressed by Senate Bill 558, now under consideration by the Judiciary Committee.

We will be closely monitoring what criteria and procedures Boyle adopts if he becomes the new administrator. That said, it is too early to tell when the fund will be up and running, when proceedings will start again, or when claims will begin to be resolved.

Rest assured, your individual settlement claim packets are filed, were accepted as complete, and we remain ready to proceed on your behalf as soon as the administrator is appointed and begins making awards.

What’s happening with my lawsuit?

As a reminder, your lawsuits will remain stayed (paused) in the court system as we continue to try to settle your cases in the fund. Filing these lawsuits preserves your claims no matter what happens to the YDC Settlement Fund, giving you leverage over the state. If you are treated unfairly in the Settlement Fund process, you have another option for pursuing your claims.

In addition, we are continuing to pursue our lawsuit against Governor Ayotte and Attorney General Formella regarding the changes the state made to the fund. That lawsuit remains active and is an important safeguard—one that discourages the state from taking further actions that undermine your right to fair compensation.

Thank you for your patience

We know this has been a long and difficult wait, and we sincerely appreciate your patience. We will continue to provide regular updates and will reach out to you directly once resolution proceedings are scheduled for your claims.

Phone number change

As of June 1, 2026, we will discontinue the use of 603-628-4000. This means you can no longer reach a YDC attorney or victim specialist at this number.

PLEASE USE: 603-628-4060

**If you are incarcerated, please change your approved legal number to 603-628-4060 to ensure these calls are not recorded.**

How to reach us

The best ways to stay connected and reach our office are:

• CaseStatus app: Download the CaseStatus app from the App Store (iPhone) or Google Play (Android). Search for “CaseStatus,” download the app, and register using the email address associated with your case. Once set up, you can see updates on your case, receive notifications, and message our office directly. Please call and speak to a victim specialist if you have questions about this process.
• Client phone update line: Call 603-628-4060 and ask to be transferred to the update line to hear our regularly updated recorded message with the latest information. We update this line as developments occur, so please check back often.

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Thank you,