District pays $225k with no admission of guilt, includes non-disclosure agreement

BC settles Child Victims Act lawsuit

DELMAR – The Bethlehem Central School District settled a civil lawsuit filed under the Child Victims Act last year for $225,000, according to documents obtained by Spotlight News under the Freedom of Information Law.

A victim, who was in kindergarten and first grade when the alleged abuse took place between 1987 and 1988, filed the suit against the district and the School Board, alleging that former district bus driver David Harnett had repeated, unpermitted sexual contact with her.

The settlement included provisions stating that the school district had “no admission of liability or fault” and included a confidentiality and non-disclosure agreement for the plaintiff.

Additionally, the agreement stipulated that the victim would not make any disparaging or critical remarks about the district. However, it specifically stated that the plaintiff was not restricted in how she could speak or communicate about Harnett.

The section defines the covered parties as “the Board of Education of the Bethlehem Central School District, and any representatives, officers, and employees of the District. However, this does not include David Harnett.”

In the General Release signed by both parties, the plaintiff agreed to release the Board and District, but the document specifically excluded Harnett from any relief.

It releases all named parties “with the exception of David Harnett, for whom this release shall not release said person, in law, admiralty, or equity.”

Cynthia LaFave of LaFave, Wein & Frament, who represented the plaintiff, said there is no current litigation filed against Harnett at this time. Harnett was not named as a defendant in the suit, which was common in CVA lawsuits filed after the passage of the Child Victims Act in 2019.

The lawsuit, filed in August 2021 just before the Child Victims Act deadline, proceeded through discovery in late 2022, with a settlement reached in October 2023. A stipulation of discontinuance was filed in June 2024 following mediation efforts earlier that year.

Harnett was employed as a bus driver for the district from approximately 1978 to June 30, 2013, according to a district memo obtained by Spotlight News.

The victim was a student at Clarksville Elementary School at the time the alleged incident took place. Bethlehem Central closed Clarksville Elementary in June 2011 after more than 60 years as a school, and the building is now owned by the Albany County Sheriff’s Office.

New York passed the Child Victims Act in 2019, extending the statute of limitations and allowing survivors of sexual abuse to file suit before an August 2021 deadline.

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