Civil lawsuit targeting St. Thomas Academy’s culture, scaled back by a judge, now hangs on negligence claim

A lawsuit by two St. Thomas Academy graduates alleging a “frat-like” school culture that administrators ignored was scaled back by a judge several months ago, but the private school in Mendota Heights is still fighting civil claims that it was negligent in protecting students.

According to the suit filed in January 2023 in Dakota County District Court, plaintiffs Joseph Kolar and Tucker Bakko alleged they were groped by senior students while they were interviewed for possible school awards. The interviews were run solely by students and without supervision from former staff member Neil Hetherington, who oversaw the class. He retired in 2023.

The plaintiffs also charged that the entire school supported a culture that discouraged “snitching” and allowed for racist, sexist and homophobic comments.

In the first dismissed claim for battery/sexual abuse, the plaintiffs argued the school should be held liable for the abuse by other students. District Court Judge Shawn Moynihan sided with St. Thomas’ argument that past cases of so-called vicarious liability involved employer/employee relationships and not school staff/student relationships, and wrote that Minnesota has never held a school liable for a student’s actions. He ruled that the plaintiffs failed to provide evidence to show that Hetherington committed an “intentional tort,” or a wrongful act that would make the school liable.

Kolar and Bakko, who graduated in 2022, did not report the conduct at the time “due to the environment” at the school and out of fear of retaliation by other students, according to the Oct. 10 order from Moynihan.

School officials and attorneys for both parties declined to comment, and former Headmaster Kelby Woodard, who led the school during the alleged incidents, did not return a call seeking comment. In an email to the St. Thomas community last year, he called the allegations “unfounded and without merit” following an inquiry from the Star Tribune.

Woodard left St. Thomas after the 2022-23 school year and now works as CEO of the Cristo Rey Network of schools, a national organization of 39 Catholic college preparatory high schools that serve low-income students, according to his LinkedIn page.

The two active claims allege negligence and negligent supervision. The plaintiffs argue that Hetherington ran a loose classroom and that the school could have taken steps to make him supervise the students more directly, thus preventing the abuse.

The judge also dismissed claims of false advertising and consumer fraud against the school, which in promotional materials touts itself as a “safe place” with “a proven learning system” and says it “understands boys,” according to the judge’s summary. Moynihan said the plaintiffs’ claim lacked information generally required to prove false advertising.

The plaintiffs may appeal the dismissals, but only after a decision is made on the two ongoing claims for negligence and negligent supervision.