ROCKAWAY TOWNSHIP, NEW JERSEY: The grieving family of a 12-year-old girl, who took her life six years ago, will reportedly get a settlement of $9.1 million from her school district after it failed to take any steps to protect her from repeated cyberbullying. Mallory Grossman was a student of Copeland Middle School in Rockaway Township and died by suicide in 2017 after being the target of vicious teasing from some of her schoolmates.
A year after her death, a wrongful-death lawsuit was filed against the Rockaway Township school district, the board, the principal, and the municipality. At the time, the family’s lawyer, Bruce Nagel, reportedly said, “One year ago, on June 14, sixth-grader Mallory Grossman, who attended Copeland Middle School in Rockaway [died by suicide] and she did so after being relentlessly bullied by four of her classmates.”
On July 26, after the verdict was announced, Nagel told Newjersey.com, “This settlement is one more step in dealing with this avoidable tragedy and I hope that it sends a clear message to all schools around the country that our children must be protected from the horrors of school bullying.”
Who are Mallory Grossman's parents?
Mallory was the daughter of Dianne and Seth Grossman. After losing their child, they started the Mallory’s Army Foundation to raise awareness about the bullying culture among school-going children. On the foundation's website, it states, “Hurtful words can be just as painful as thrown stones.” Through the foundation, Mallory's parents aim to “empower kids to be amazing people" and "educate parents." They also want to create "enrichment programs for schools" to help children "understand ‘gateway behaviors’ and ‘relational bullying’." Another one of their goals is to "enhance communities and bring people together.”
Regarding the recent development in the case, Dianne shared in a statement, “(Seth and I) are satisfied with the settlement, ready to put this part behind us (and) move forward, continuing to lend our voice to the epidemic that is stealing our children’s future. We hope all schools, BOEs & administrators will take a look at their current policies (and) make the necessary changes to protect all students, as it pertains to bullying and cyberbullying.”
‘She’s left us lessons for others to learn about’
Meanwhile, an obituary for the now-deceased little girl has described her as a “teacher”. It went on to state that Mallory “taught us how to love each other as only a child can. Although she has returned to join all of the Angels in Heaven, she’s left us lessons for others to learn about. How we should love each other. The value of our lives, our families, and our communities. Her purpose and impact on this world is beyond what we can see or feel.”
The tribute also noted that she is survived by her parents as well as three “siblings Carlee, Kristen, and Ryan. She looked up to them and loved them. She loved everyone,” before adding, “Mal loved her girlfriends Bianca, Caroline, Liv, Anna, and Ava. They laughed and played and learned from each other. Beautiful, kind girls.”
