By Victoria Dolan

In the middle of the second day of testimony in former Hull Public Schools Superintendent Michael Devine’s $5-million wrongful termination lawsuit against the town, representatives informed Judge Patti B. Saris that they had reached a settlement in lieu of continuing the trial.

The Hull Select Board held an unscheduled Zoom meeting at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday – allowable under the Open Meeting Law in emergency situations – to consider the settlement amount. The details of that executive session were not available by the Times’ deadline.

Devine, who was principal of Hull High School before becoming superintendent in 2017, alleged that the termination of his contract in 2020 was a product of discrimination based on his sexual orientation, and brought seven counts against the Hull Public Schools, the Town of Hull and five school committee members for breach of contract, discrimination, defamation, and economic and emotional damages. Devine filed his suit in 2021; the trial in front of a jury began on Tuesday.

Click here to read the full text of Devine v. Town of Hull, filed in 2021

Click here for the notice of settlement filed with the court on May 30, 2024

former Hull Superintendent Michael Devine….

Representing the schools, attorney Deborah Ecker argued in opening statements that Devine’s termination was not discriminatory, but a direct result of inappropriate text messages with former student Ryan Hauter, who was identified in open court and in attorneys’ filings.

Devine, said Ecker, “was texting with a student who looked up to him as a father figure and who he knew had significant mental health issues.” He had “crossed the line,” said Ecker, and at the time he told Hauter and multiple school officials that he knew it.

Devine was represented by India Minchoff and Stephen Kuzma. In her opening statement, Minchoff argued that Devine’s “sexual orientation was a deciding factor in his termination,” and that texts with a 21-year-old adult living in another state should never have been under the jurisdiction of the school committee.

Minchoff argued that the five school committee members decided to terminate Devine because they were worried about public perception and began to stereotype Devine upon learning of his sexuality.

“This case is about… public perception,” said Minchoff, “and the school committee’s perception of him as a ‘groomer.’”

After opening statements, Minchoff and Kuzma called two witnesses, former Athletic Director Jim Quatromoni and Executive Secretary Maggie Ollerhead, who both testified that Devine created a friendly and welcoming work environment within the school department. Quatromoni, who was subpoenaed to testify about whether Devine influenced the assignment of internships – Quatromoni testified that he had not – said that Hauter was eventually placed in an internship at the school’s main office. While in this internship, he frequently encountered and had one-on-one conversations with Devine.

Devine did not finish his testimony before the case settled. However, he spoke at length about his messages with Hauter and his fear of “coming out” as gay in the Hull community.

“I felt at times that there were people who were not tolerant,” he said, especially after hearing comments like “that’s so gay” from “people in positions of power,” such as local elected officials.

Devine argued that text messages with Hauter were incomplete and taken out of context. The trial and a pre-trial memorandum were the first time these text messages were made public. Devine and Hauter’s communication began with Hauter reaching out through email, after which Devine provided his personal cell phone and Hauter began texting him. The student had already graduated from Hull High School and was living out of state.

The text messages displayed during the trial were from September of 2019, and included Devine asking, “Have you ever thought about us in a different way?” In a later part of the conversation, Hauter texted “Hahahah my thinking was ‘my former principal just came on to me’ hahahaha,” to which Devine responded, “No he didn’t! Well…” and “You totally knew what I was hinting at didn’t you?”

Some excerpts of the conversation were not available, because they were left out of screenshots or, as Devine alleged, deleted by Hauter.

Devine stated that he asked Hauter about his feelings because Hauter had previously texted “I love you.”

The conversation continued, but Hauter later contacted school social worker Andrea Centerrino that he was upset by the messages. During conversations with Centerrino and former Hull High Principal Nicole Nosek, Devine repeatedly stated that he “crossed the line.” On the stand, Devine expressed that this sentiment was misperceived, and he crossed the line by making Hauter uncomfortable with his question about their relationship.

Before Devine finished his testimony, the parties reached an agreement to settle, the terms of which were not released. The judge issued a 30-day order to finalize written terms.

Christopher Haraden contributed to this report.

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