Bullying Of Mallory Grossman, 12, Detailed In Wrongful Death Suit

ROCKAWAY, NJ — The unrelenting bullying 12-year-old Mallory Grossman allegedly faced in the months leading up to her suicide death is detailed in a wrongful lawsuit filed on Tuesday by the Grossman family against the Rockaway Township Board of Education, administrators, teachers, and faculty.

The lawsuit describes in detail the alleged bullying Mallory faced by four fellow sixth graders, and the alleged shortcomings of administrators in addressing the "ongoing and systemic" bullying, including forcing Mallory to hug her bullies. The fellow students are not named to protect their identities as minors. They are not defendants in the suit.

Then-superintendent Greg McGann, the Township, the Board of Education, Copeland Middle School principal Alfonso Gonnella, sixth grade vice principal Jennifer Klak, guidance counselor Sonya Patel, anti-bullying coordinator Christine Ciampi, and unnamed teachers, lunch aids, librarians, and school faculty are named as defendants in the lawsuit, provided to Patch by the family's attorney, Bruce Nagel of Nagel Rice.

According to the suit, the group of four girls (identified as A.B., C.D., E.F., and G.H.) bullied Mallory at home via social media, in the classroom, and in the lunch room, actions the family claims directly led to Mallory's suicide death on June 14, 2017. The suit says the school district fell short of a legal obligation to prevent bullying.

• Read more: 6 Of The Most Disturbing Claims In NJ Bullying Death Lawsuit

Interim Superintendent Jacqueline Stort declined to comment when reached by phone Tuesday morning. It is not clear who is currently representing the school district in the suit; the law firm representing them last year told Patch they are no longer working on the case. The district has previously denied any wrong-doing.

The girls allegedly sent Mallory texts and Snapchat photos with messages like "you have no friends," "poor Mal" and "when are you going to kill yourself?" When Mallory told them to stop and delete the photos, E.F. told her, "Never." When Mallory asked A.B. to leave her alone, the girl allegedly sent a "nasty response" back.

• Read more: Bullied To Death: When Kids Kill With Words

Bullying was not limited to social media, the lawsuit says. The girls had choir class together, and would kick Mallory's chair constantly and "verbally demean her," the suit says. Some of the taunts named in the suit include "ugly," "fat," "jiggly," "rich white girl," and "a bitch."

Mallory was eventually removed from the choir class for six weeks, while the other girls were allowed to stay, the suit says.

When Mallory tried to sit with the girls at lunch the day before her death, they allegedly told her, "You can't sit here, you have no friends."

The constant lunchtime bullying led to Mallory eating lunch in the guidance office most days at the suggestion of school officials, contributing to her social isolation, the suit alleges.

Dianne Grossman, Mallory's mother, intervened on her behalf, but was met with resistance from the school, who urged her not to file an official bullying complaint, the suit alleges. Instead of taking actions to punish the bullies, the onus was placed on Mallory to fix the situation, including allegedly forcing Mallory to hug the bullies.

On the day of her death, the Grossmans met with Gonnella, the school principal, who allegedly told them to take Mallory home because she was "not safe," but that he would "get in a lot of trouble" for recommending that.

During that three-hour meeting, Gonnella allegedly instructed Mallory to write her initials and the date on a poker chip, and asked her if she was "all in?" The lawsuit says Gonnella's actions during that meeting "irretrievably humiliated Mallory."

Hours after that meeting, Mallory killed herself, the lawsuit says.

Before that final meeting, the district had numerous opportunities to address the bullying, the suit says, but did not. Patel, the guidance counselor, met with Grossman and Mallory several times during the year, but allegedly failed to take "properly escalate the complaints."

A March 2017 meeting between all of Mallory's core teachers allegedly failed to mention the previous bullying complaints, something the suit says shows none of the teachers tried to stop the bullying.

The suit says Mallory's bullying came during a district-wide spike in bullying reports. The number of bullying incidents reported during the 2016-17 school year allegedly were the same as were reported during the previous four years. Because bullying can impact educational success, the suit alleges the district had a responsibility to address the bullying to allow Mallory to learn.

The family is asking for a jury trial and punitive damages in accordance with the Wrongful Death and Survivorship Acts, costs of the suit, and other legal fees.

The family first announced their intention to sue last August, two months after Mallory's death. Before a formal lawsuit can be filed, a plaintiff must first file a tort notice and enter into a six-month mediation period. If mediation fails, then a lawsuit can be filed.

Mallory's death remains under investigation by the Morris County Prosecutor's Office, spokesperson Peter DiGennaro told Patch on Tuesday. Citing privacy concerns and the fact that the investigating is ongoing, he declined to comment further.

In the year since her death, the family has worked to keep Mallory's name in people's minds, making several high-profile national media appearances, including Megyn Kelly on the Today Show and PBS, and earning support of celebrities like rock star Dee Snider and former Giants football player Lee Rouson.

This is not the first time a lawsuit has been filed against a school district in Morris County following a bullying-related suicide death. A lawsuit filed over the 2014 suicide death of Morristown High Schooler Lennon Vernelas Baldwin was recently settled for $625,000.

Similar suits have been filed nationwide. The family of Rosalie Avila, a California 13-year-old who killed herself after she was bullied, filed suit against the district for alleged negligence.

Bullying lawsuits are not always related to suicides. A Manchester, New Jersey teenager recently settled with that district over intense physical bullying that forced her into a private school, and a Toms River, New Jersey teenager settled with the district in 2013 after he was bullied for his perceived sexual orientation.

Do you have a story to tell? Email us at bullies@patch.com.

Follow Patch's reporting on this story:

• 1 Year Later, Mallory Grossman Lives On In Anti-Bullying Efforts
• Mom Shares 'Last Selfie' Taken With Mallory Grossman Before Death
• Mallory Grossman's Family Sues Rockaway Schools Over Bullying That Led To Suicide
• Bullying Against Mallory Grossman Wasn't Ignored, Rockaway School Officials Say
• Rockaway Schools Respond To Lawsuit Over 12-Year-Old's Suicide, Bullying
• Mother Of Rockaway 12-Year-Old Who Died Complained To School About Bullying
• 'Mallory's Army' Fights Back Against Bullying After 12-Year-Old's Sudden Death
• Rockaway 6th Grader Who Passed Away Remembered As Charitable And Outdoorsy
• Community Donates $64K To Family Of Rockaway Middle Schooler Who Died Last Week

If you or someone you know is considering suicide, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 or text the Crisis Text Line at 741-741.

Image: Dianne, center, and Seth Grossman, right, parents of Mallory Grossman, look as their attorney, Bruce Nagel, holds up a cell phone during a news conference in Roseland, New Jersey, Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2017. The New Jersey mother is suing her late daughter's school district because she says they didn't do enough to stop cyber bullying against her daughter that led the 12-year-old to kill herself. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)