Family Of Bullied Bayville Teen Sues District 1 Year After Her Death

BERKELEY, NJ — Almost a year ago, a video of Adriana Kuch being attacked in the hallways of Central Regional High School was spread on social media. Two days later the 14-year-old took her own life, and now her family has filed suit.

Kuch’s family has announced the filing of a lawsuit against the district, school officials and former Superintendent Triantafillos Parlapanides, who they say knew there was a bullying problem and did nothing to prevent it.

Officials with the Central Regional School District said that as of Tuesday, they had not been served with the suit and were unable to comment. As the matter involves litigation, the district would be further limited in what they could say, officials said.

READ MORE: 'We Want Justice': Central Students Protest After Classmate's Death

"The Kuch family has been left with one option, and that's filing this lawsuit," William Krais, an attorney from Porzio, Bromberg & Newman representing the Kuch family, said at a Monday press conference. "They filed this lawsuit to seek justice for Adriana and to hold the school district, school officials and especially the superintendent accountable for what happened here."

The bullying and humiliation, Krais said, did not stop at Adriana's death. Instead, it continued when Parlapanides revealed personal details about her family life to members of the press, which Krais said violated the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act. Parlapanides resigned shortly after.

This suit, filed by Adriana's father, Michael Kuch, Sr., and stepmother Sarah Kuch, on their behalf and on behalf of Adriana's estate and her brother Ethan Kuch, alleges that the district not only were aware of the bullying problem, but that they did nothing to properly address it or investigate the threats. The suit seeks punitive damages.

In the year following Adriana's death, the school has made some changes, but those are "too little, too late for Adriana and her family," Krais said.

Additionally, the district recently announced it would be filing a lawsuit against major social media companies, seeking to hold them accountable for their role in the mental health of young people.

This, Krais said, was "deflection."

"It's their [the district's] responsibility to address student behavior and we don't deny for a second that social media or TikTok or other social media platforms make the job a little more challenging for sure," Krais said. "But it's the school that has to be held accountable and it's the school that has to take responsibility for its failings."

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