Father Entitled to Additur for Son's Lost Future Earnings in Wrongful Death Case

A father who prevailed against a public school district in a wrongful death case stemming from his son's suicide is entitled to an additur to account for his son's lost future earnings, a Superior Court judge has ruled. The judge's decision comes after a jury awarded $5.7 million to the plaintiff, Richard Bruno, but failed to award any damages for his son's lost future earnings.

The case involved the death of 15-year-old Nathan Bruno, who hanged himself in February 2018 after being subjected to a pressure campaign by his physical education teacher and head football coach, Ryan Moniz. The pressure campaign was in an attempt to coerce Nathan into divulging the names of two football players who were also allegedly involved in prank calls and texts sent to Moniz. The jury found that Moniz's conduct proximately caused Nathan's suicide, but awarded nothing for lost future earnings despite expert testimony on the issue.

In opposition to the plaintiff's post-judgment motion for additur, the defendant town argued that under the Wrongful Death Act, there is no requirement that pecuniary damages be awarded once a threshold of $250,000 has been reached. However, Judge Richard A. Licht disagreed, emphasizing that while the act states that the parent of a deceased child "may recover" for loss of the child's society and companionship, pecuniary damages recoverable by the beneficiaries "shall be ascertained."

Key Takeaways:

• The judge ruled that the father is entitled to an additur to account for his son's lost future earnings, which will be $1.525 million or a new trial solely on the issue of pecuniary damages.
• The jury awarded $5.7 million to the plaintiff, but failed to award any damages for his son's lost future earnings.
• The judge pointed out that the jury heard testimony from Dr. Leonard Lardaro, a qualified economics expert who calculated both the income Nathan could have expected to make in his lifetime had he graduated from high school and his expected income based on average earnings for all white males.
• The judge granted the additur due to the uncontradicted expert testimony on the issue of pecuniary damages, citing the Supreme Court's decision in Mowry v. Allstate Insurance Co.
• The pressure campaign by Coach Moniz was found to have caused Nathan's mental state, leading him to take his own life.

Statistics:

• The jury awarded $1 million for pre-death pain and suffering and $2.2 million to Nathan's father for loss of companionship.
• The judge ordered the town to pay an additional $1.525 million or face a new trial solely on the issue of pecuniary damages.
• The total verdict was $5.7 million with interest.
• The economist's expert testimony calculated that Nathan could have expected to make $1.4 million in his lifetime had he graduated from high school.
• Nathan's expected income based on average earnings for all white males was calculated to be $1.5 million.

Sources:

• Bruno v. Mills, et al. (Newport Superior Court)
• [The Westerly Sun, "Judge rules in favor of father in son's death suit"](https://www.thewesterlysun.com/news/local/judge-rules-in-favor-of-father-in-son-s-death-suit/article_03a7275c-3729-11ed-9e67-53b8538f1e1a.html)