Notable Cases | Special Needs Law

Sean Goguen - Equal Justice

Notable Cases

At the end of the day, a lawyer's value is judged on the results he or she has achieved for clients.  Most of Attorney Goguen's cases have resulted in substantial settlements in favor of the children and parents he represents, without having to go to hearing.

However, there have been times when he has had to force school districts to give his clients what they need by taking the case to hearing and winning it. For this reason, Attorney Goguen has earned a reputation for going the distance. 

Below are thumbnail descriptions of cases Attorney Goguen has won at hearing, along with links to the official published decisions from the BSEA's website*:   

Student v. Nashoba Regional School District – BSEA #13-4007

Parents awarded private school placement at RCS Learning Center, an ABA-based school in Natick, for their daughter with autism:
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Student v. Pembroke Public Schools – BSEA #12-0507

In this "sole source" case, the Parents sought residential placement for their dyslexic son at the Kildonan School, which is a private school for dyslexic children located in Amenia, New York; Kildonan was not a school approved by Massachusetts to provide special education services.  Parents were ultimately awarded the Kildonan placement, but it required Attorney Goguen to file for contempt against Pembroke for their failure to obey the Hearing Officer’s decision.  Unfortunately two separate hearings with live witness testimony were necessary in the case, both of which Attorney Goguen handled, and therefore there are two decisions related to it:
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Student v. Walpole Public Schools – BSEA #12-3645

Parents awarded private school placement for their daughter at the Ivy Street School in Brookline, which is a school specializing in educating students with brain injuries:
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Student v. Westford Public Schools – BSEA #11-0373

Parents awarded private school placement for their daughter with Nonverbal Learning Disorder at the Learning Skills Academy, a private school located in Rye, New Hampshire specializing in educating children with communication and social skill deficits:
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Student v. Newton Public Schools – BSEA #09-6466

Parents awarded private school placement at the Learning Prep School in Newton for their son who had serious language processing deficits and a seizure disorder:
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Student v. Pentucket Regional School District – BSEA #08-5616

Parents awarded retroactive reimbursement for placement of their dyslexic daughter at Landmark School:
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Student v. Groton-Dunstable Regional School District - BSEA #07-1194

Parents awarded private school placement at the Learning Prep School in Newton for their daughter who had language-based learning disability, seizure disorder and auditory processing disorder:
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Student v. North Reading Public Schools – BSEA #07-1386

Parents awarded private school placement at Landmark School in Beverly for their dyslexic daughter:
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* Please note that the above references are only for cases that have been fully litigated and have gone through a full hearing and final decision; they are cases that did not settle.  Cases that result in settlements are not reported by the BSEA, due to the confidential nature of the settlements.