N.J. justice protected from suit, court rules

A Superior Court judge in Trenton yesterday dismissed all but one claim against state Supreme Court Justice Roberto Rivera-Soto in a lawsuit that arose from a high school football team dispute.

Judge Linda Feinberg also dismissed the state as a defendant, and ruled that Rivera-Soto could be sued only as a private citizen, not in his capacity as a justice.

The civil suit alleges the justice improperly used his position to intercede in a 2006 dispute between his son, then a sophomore at Haddonfield Memorial High School, and a football teammate, senior Conor Larkin.

The suit, filed by Larkin, accuses Rivera-Soto of trying to have Larkin suspended from playing a football game after Larkin allegedly head-butted his son, Christian, during a practice drill.

When the school did not act, Rivera-Soto filed a criminal complaint against Larkin. The complaint was dismissed after the school year without any more trouble between the students.

The suit accuses Rivera-Soto of repeatedly referring to his judicial position with school and court personnel and contacting the Camden County prosecutor and two judges about the criminal complaint.

Feinberg threw out four claims against Rivera-Soto, but allowed one civil-rights claim to stand.

That claim involves whether Rivera-Soto interfered with Larkin's rights to a public education, due process and equal protection.

Larkin "is permitted to obtain his own discovery to determine if Rivera-Soto . . . tried to 'bully' the school administration into punishing or suspending the plaintiff," Feinberg wrote.

Larkin's attorney also will be allowed to seek evidence about Rivera-Soto's conversations with court personnel.

For the claim to proceed, Larkin would have to show that Rivera-Soto acted "under color of state law," meaning the justice used his position to influence events improperly.

Feinberg noted that Rivera-Soto, who was appointed to the court in 2004, had been censured by his peers in 2007 for creating "the appearance of impropriety" with his actions in the Larkin case.

"While this finding is not conclusive as to whether Rivera-Soto acted under color of law, it certainly has probative value in making that determination," Feinberg wrote.

Rivera-Soto's lawyer, Bruce McMoran, said at arguments this month his client had been "acting as a father" when he complained to school officials and police about what he perceived as bullying of his son.

In court papers, Rivera-Soto said Larkin's rights had not been violated; he was not punished at school, and did not face arrest or incarceration.

Rivera-Soto also said that there was no evidence he had abused his authority, and that he had taken no official action as a justice during the course of the case.

McMoran did not return a phone call seeking comment yesterday. Larkin's attorney, Clifford Van Syoc, also did not return a message.

Among the claims dismissed by Feinberg was an age-discrimination complaint based on the differing ages of the two teammates.

Feinberg also refused a plaintiff motion to move the case from her court in Mercer County, and a motion to recuse herself because of perceived bias for Rivera-Soto.

"The court is not biased against plaintiff or plaintiff's counsel," the judge wrote.