Man With Autism Was Barred From Dad's Bergen County Funeral, Lawsuit Says

BERGEN COUNTY, NJ — A man with autism was taunted when he showed up for his father's funeral in Englewood two years ago, and restricted from the service, according to a lawsuit filed last week.

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Noah Fields-Trusty says in the discrimination suit, filed Dec. 4, that on Dec. 10, 2023, he headed to Community Baptist Church on First Street in Englewood to attend the funeral. His father, Rev. Dr. Samuel Trusty, Sr., had died on Nov. 30.

According to the suit, Noah had regular visitation with Trusty on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and "Samuel E. Trusty, Sr. recognized and accepted Noah as his natural born child."

When Noah and his mother showed up to the service, according to the suit, the church's pastor refused to let Noah in and directed church security to stop him. But he had a court order allowing him to attend, the suit says.

The suit says that a member of the deceased man's family began calling Noah "stupid," "ugly," and "r---ded," and that other family members and church members added insults.

The pastor "permitted the public to continue to taunt the plaintiff who has a disability of Asperger's," says the suit. "Despite the fact that Plaintiffs mother explained Plaintiff's disability of autism and her request for a reasonable accommodation of being permitted to accompany Plaintiff into the church to view his father" the request was denied.

Eventually, Noah was allowed into the church alone, but they wouldn't let him stay in the sanctuary, the suit says. The "harassment" was so extreme, the suit says, that Noah urinated on himself, at which time people again called him new names.

The suit also says that Noah previously had been told he'd be arrested if he showed at the church.

The suit says Noah was discriminated against because of his disability.

"Denying a son the right to say goodbye to his father at his funeral," the suit says, "and allowing others to call him 'ret--ded' and causing him to urinate on himself was conduct so outrageous and so extreme in degree it went beyond all bounds of decency and was so atrocious and intolerable in a civilized community."

The suit notes, "The emotional distress suffered by the Plaintiff is so severe that no reasonable person could be expected to endure it. The distress has resulted in substantial and enduring effects including physical manifestations of emotional distress."

Noah is looking for a judgment for compensatory damages, punitive damages, attorneys' fees, interest, and legal fees.

Patch reached out to the church for comment and will update the story if comment is received.