UNION, Maine — A former student at Medomak Valley High School will receive $1.1 million to settle a lawsuit she filed against the school district and two former employees of RSU 40.
RSU 40 released the terms of the settlement on Tuesday at the request of Midcoast Villager.
Under terms of the agreement, the district and its former employees do not admit to any liability. The case had been scheduled to go to a jury trial starting Sept. 8, but last month, the parties announced to the U.S. District Court that a settlement had been reached.
Adrianna Wadsworth’s lawsuit, first filed in the U.S. District Court of Portland in 2019, states she was sexually harassed by then-MVHS Principal Andrew Cavanaugh during 2017 and she reported the harassment to then-social worker Charles Nguyen but he failed to act.
The lawsuit has been slowed by COVID-19 and then appeals to the First Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston.
Statements filed during the years of litigation show that Cavanaugh sent more than 5,000 texts to the student between April and November 2017, often sexually suggestive.
Cavanaugh and Nguyen denied the allegations. Cavanaugh resigned in December 2017. Waldoboro Police referred the Cavanaugh matter to the Knox County Sheriff’s Office. No criminal charges resulted from either probe. Nguyen is no longer employed in the district.
Judge Woodcock ruled in March 2023 that Wadsworth’s claims against RSU 40 did not meet the standards set in federal civil rights laws. The Appeals Court in Boston overturned that decision in February 2025 and kept alive a Title IX claim by Wadsworth.
“Taking everything together, a reasonable jury could conclude Assistant Principals Pease and/or Philbrook had information such that there was a substantial risk that Cavanaugh was sexually harassing Wadsworth. Thus, the district court erred in granting MSAD (40) summary judgment on this basis, and we reverse the district court’s decision as to the Title IX claim and remand for further proceedings consistent with this opinion,” the Appeals Court ruled.
There was no evidence raised that Superintendent Steve Nolan had been made aware of the complaints, the court noted.
