The mother of an infant girl who died while in the care of a Fairfield babysitter has filed suit against the woman and her 12-year-old daughter, seeking unspecified damages.
Nicole Greenaway of Waterville filed the civil lawsuit less than a month after Kelli Murphy, now 12 years old, admitted to unspecified misdemeanor charges in connection with the death of three-month-old Brooklyn Foss-Greenaway on July 8, 2012. The 13-count suit, filed in Kennebec County Superior Court, is against Murphy, who was 10 years old when the infant died, and her mother, Amanda Huard, who had been babysitting for Brooklyn.
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Greenaway’s attorney, Sheldon Tepler of Lewiston, said the suit is the family’s opportunity to achieve some measure of justice after being torn apart by Brooklyn’s death.
“It’s a terrible thing, seeing the anguish of a lost child,” Tepler said Monday. “The open wound, if you’re lucky, becomes a scar you can live with.”
Ever since Greenaway’s daughter died during the overnight stay at Huard’s Fairfield home, Greenaway has asked for criminal charges to be brought against Huard. Deputy Attorney General Bill Stokes has said Huard could not be charged, in part because parents aren’t criminally responsible for the actions of their children under Maine law.
An autopsy report said Brooklyn died of asphyxia and suffocation and classifies the manner of death as “homicide.” The report also said Huard set up “the infant’s portable crib in her 10-year-old daughter’s bedroom and entrusted the infant’s care to her daughter.”
Murphy, now 12, was originally charged with manslaughter, making her among the state’s youngest-ever defendants to face that charge. On May 21, Murphy settled the criminal case by admitting to unspecified juvenile violations during a closed-door hearing in Skowhegan District Court, ending a two-year court process.
As a result of the plea agreement, Murphy will continue to receive counseling and treatment under the supervision of the state Department of Health and Human Services until she is 18. At that time, the supervision period may be extended until she is 21.
After the conclusion of Murphy’s case, Greenaway said she was angry, both because there was no public admission of responsibility by Murphy and because Huard wasn’t charged.
Tepler said the lawsuit is motivated by a desire for justice, not money, and that the emphasis will be on Huard.
“This is a case that will really probably focus on the negligence of Amanda, the mom, really for her failure to supervise,” Tepler said.
Walter McKee, who has represented Huard throughout Murphy’s criminal case, was not in his office Monday and attempts to reach him were unsuccessful.
The allegations in the suit include negligence on Huard’s part for leaving Brooklyn alone with Murphy despite earlier warning signs. The suit alludes to a document from the Department of Health and Human Services with instructions that Murphy should not be left alone with infants. That instruction was given after a reported incident with another infant who was found with medication in her system that matched drugs prescribed for Murphy.
The suit says Huard failed to “properly monitor and follow through with treatment plans” prescribed for Murphy by her medical providers and DHHS, and that she “failed to properly ensure that Kelli Murphy took her prescribed medications.”
It alleges that Murphy illegally administered a prescription amphetamine to Brooklyn and acted to suffocate her. Huard was negligent for not removing the infant from Murphy’s care when she heard the infant crying and screaming, the suit alleges.
Tepler said Maine law prohibits specifying a dollar amount in a lawsuit, and he declined to specify any out-of-pocket expenses the Greenaway family has borne as a result of Brooklyn’s death.
“Right now, I’d rather focus just on attaining justice for this family rather than getting into a number,” Tepler said. “To say this amount or that amount is undignified.”
Collecting damages from Murphy or because of Murphy’s actions is likely to be a tricky proposition, one legal authority on juvenile justice said Monday.
Maine state law caps the amount that Greenaway can collect from Huard as a result of Murphy’s “willful or malicious” actions at $800, according to Chris Northrop, a clinical professor at the University of Maine School of Law and director of the law school’s Juvenile Justice Clinic. The law doesn’t relieve Murphy of personal liability, but Northrop said courts recognize that children rarely have much money.
“Kelli’s piece of the liability is pretty limited by statute,” Northrop said. “She is not going to have an ability to earn money to pay restitution so the court is unlikely to grant it.”
Huard, however, could be found negligent, opening up the possibility for more costly damages to be awarded. Tepler said a homeowners’ insurance policy could be used to pay damages caused by negligence, but not damages resulting of an intentional act.
“Compensation would only be possible if Amanda is found to be negligent,” Tepler said.
Even so, Tepler said no amount of money could truly make up for the emotional suffering that comes with the loss of a child.
While the suit doesn’t seek specific monetary compensation, it does list the types of damage to Greenaway, Brooklyn, and Greenaway’s 4-year-old daughter, Madison, who was also in the room at the time of the death.
The suit says that Brooklyn’s death caused Madison “great pain and suffering and mental anguish … requiring hospitalization and medical treatment.”
The case also seeks damages for the suffering of Brooklyn and Greenaway, Brooklyn’s funeral expenses, financial losses associated with Brooklyn’s death and Greenaway’s loss of the comfort and companionship of Brooklyn.
In addition, Greenaway seeks punitive damages “to deter (Murphy’s) future outrageous conduct.”
Tepler said the lawsuit seeks money because that is the only way for the civil court system to acknowledge liability.
“You can’t get revenge,” he said. “People need to feel validated. They really need to feel that their loss is validated. The only way you can do that in this country is by seeking monetary damages.”
The lawsuit, filed on June 10, could take a year or more to reach a resolution. Both Murphy and Huard must be formally served with legal papers, which must happen within 90 days of the suit’s filing. Once served, lawyers for Huard and Murphy will have 20 days to file an answer, which will likely lead to an extended period of case evidence being compiled and shared.
Matt Hongoltz-Hetling — 861-9287
Twitter: @hh_matt
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