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Powerful lawyer sues
teens over party at
house

Greenville man says uninvited guests
stole

By MAUREEN MILFORD • The News Journal •
April 5, 2010

A high-powered Wilmington trial lawyer nationally
known for aggressively hauling Corporate America
into court now is taking on two unlikely adversaries
-- party animals.

Stuart Grant, a plaintiff's lawyer who has represented
institutional investors in major cases that resulted
in multimillion-dollar settlements and fees, is suing
two recent Salesianum School graduates who
allegedly crashed a party last July at his Greenville
mansion.

The teens showed up uninvited to a party held by
Grant's daughter and then ventured into the
bedrooms of the house in the exclusive Stoney Run
community, Grant's complaint says. There, they h
elped themselves to prescription medicine, a coin-
filled water jug and other items, Grant's complaint
alleges.

But one of the teens tells a story of a summer party
where beer was provided, teens roamed the house
and numerous guests spent the night.

Megan McIntyre, Grant's lawyer, said Grant was not
at home at the time of the party. She said beer was
not provided. McIntyre wouldn't comment on
whether there was an adult supervising the party.

Grant didn't call the police because he didn't want
the teens to end up with criminal records, McIntyre
said.

"These were kids from good homes and he wanted
them to take responsibility for their actions but
didn't want to ruin their lives with criminal
convictions," McIntyre said.

Instead, Grant hired a private investigator and also
put out the word to all the guests that he wanted the
items returned immediately. While some items were
returned, some things are still missing, Grant
alleges. More than two months after the party, Grant
filed suit in Superior Court against the teens. A third
teen was named in the lawsuit, but the case against
him was dismissed, according to lawyers.

Michael Modica, lawyer for one of the teens, said his
client, who was welcomed into the party by Grant's
daughter, has taken responsibility for his actions.
The teen returned items he removed soon after the
party and admitted he took them.

"I don't know how much more cooperative you can
get, I really don't. He admitted what he took, and he
returned it," Modica said.


Jennifer Kate Aaronson, the lawyer for the other
teen, declined to comment.

Grant is pressing ahead with the lawsuit, asking the
court to award him not less than $6,000 in
compensatory damages to cover the cost of the
private investigator and the value of the missing
items. He also wants the court to award $10,000
from each teen in punitive damages to "make an
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example" of them, punish them for their "outrageous
conduct" and deter them and others from "engaging
in similar conduct in the future," according to the
lawsuit.

He's also asking the teens to pay his attorneys' fees,
court costs and expenses.

Grant, whose firm was cited in 2008 by RiskMetrics
Group as winning the highest average recovery in
securities class actions of any law firm in the
country, was not seeking publicity in the case, his
lawyer said. He has been surprised by the level of
interest from the legal press.

Last month, American Lawyer ran an article about
the lawsuit with the headline: "Why is a Powerhouse
Litigator Suing a Bunch of Pesky Teenagers?"

"It's crazy," said Sandra Simkins, clinical associate
professor at Rutgers School of Law and co-director
of the Rutgers Children's Justice Clinic. "I've been
doing this a long time, and I've never heard of this.
This is definitely not a good way to handle this. I
would have talked to the parents and talked to my
daughter. The courts have enough to deal with
without this kind of stuff. It's a complete waste of
judicial resources."

Joseph Tulman, a professor of law at the David A.
Clarke School of Law at the University of the District
of Columbia and director of Juvenile and Special
Education Law Clinic, said while he doesn't know all
the specifics of this case, there are more informal
ways to hold young people accountable.

"Mediation is a good approach," he said.

Wallace Mlyniec, professor of clinical legal studies
and director of the Juvenile Justice Clinic at
Georgetown University law school, said Americans
too often resort to courts, either civil and criminal,
to find recompense.


"It usually generates more expense and
psychological pain. These are teenagers. They make
mistakes. They usually grow out of it.
Developmental and psychosocial research tells us
that," Mlyniec wrote in an e-mail.

There are better ways to teach kids a lesson,
including mediation, Mlyniec said.

McIntyre said Grant tried to resolve it without
litigation.

"There may be a perception because Mr. Grant is a
lawyer the first thing he did was resort to litigation,
and that's not true at all. He would have preferred to
get everything back and everybody could go on with
their lives," she said.

Grant's goal is to have the teens take responsibility
for their actions, McIntyre said.

"While Mr. Grant blames the kids for what they did,
he's also generally frustrated with parents who don't
step up to the plate and make the kids take
responsibility for their actions," McIntyre said.

According to court documents, Thatcher Howell, 18,
of Hockessin, and Brian Kelly, 18, of Greenville,
arrived at the Grant home for a party given by
Grant's daughter, Niki, who graduated from Tower
Hill in 2009.

The teens went through "numerous bedrooms and
closets" in the house and made off with a coin-filled
water jug, clothing, electronics, household goods
and several containers of prescription medicine,
Grant alleges.

Howell ended up sleeping over at the house
because he had consumed alcohol provided at the
party, he said in court documents. He left the house
at 11 a.m. but returned that night for a second
party, according to court documents
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After Grant requested the items be brought back,
Howell returned the coin-filled water jug, while
Kelly returned some electronics and household
items, Grant alleges in his complaint.

But because numerous personal items were not
returned, Grant sued, McIntyre said. Modica said he
sent an e-mail to Grant agreeing to accept service of
the lawsuit. Instead, Grant hired a private process
server to go to Howell's house to serve him with the
lawsuit.

"I just think that needlessly caused alarm. It's
routine in Delaware when someone's represented by
a lawyer that the lawyer will agree to accept the
service of the lawsuit," Modica said.

Kelly, in his answer to the complaint and in
discovery, declined to respond to allegations and
questions because it could violate his constitutional
right under the Fifth Amendment that a person has
the right to remain silent.

The suit, which was filed in October, is proceeding
through the courts. Modica is asking for a jury trial.

"I'm disappointed [Grant] is using the system in this
way," Modica said.


Eric D. Schwerin
Rosemont Seneca Partners, LLC
1010 Wisconsin Ave., NW
Suite 705
Washington, DC 20007
(202) 333-1880
[email protected]
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