The lawsuit, filed in February 2025, seeks to hold Kent School responsible for failing to implement adequate cybersecurity protections, failing to supervise its employee and failing to act to protect students after it received a report of misconduct in 2022. The employee, Daniel Clery, was the school’s Network and Systems Administrator. In a separate criminal action brought by the State of Connecticut, Clery pleaded guilty to two felony counts of computer crimes committed for a sexual purpose. Most of the approximately 70 students affected were female, ranging in age from 14 to 18. The accessed files included intimate photographs and videos.
Overview
The plaintiffs allege that Clery exploited his privileged access to the school's network and computer systems to access, view, copy, and retain personal files belonging to students and staff over a period spanning from September 2016 through February 2023.
The lawsuit alleges that a female staff member reported to Kent School in the spring or summer of 2022 that Clery had improperly accessed her personal photographs. Rather than investigating immediately, the school waited eight months – until the same employee reported a second incident – before launching an internal investigation and terminating Clery in early 2023. The school retained an outside cybersecurity firm to examine Clery's work computers and Kent School's servers, which confirmed that Clery had accessed and copied personal files belonging to over 80 members of the Kent School community, including approximately 70 current and former students. The plaintiffs belive this may significantly underestimate the number of affected students and faculty members.
The lawsuit asserts claims for negligence, recklessness, invasion of privacy, computer crimes, negligent infliction of emotional distress, and violation of the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act (CUTPA).
Case Updates
March 9, 2026: Court Grants Class Certification
On March 9, 2026, the Connecticut Superior Court granted the plaintiffs' motion for class certification, certifying a class defined as all current or former students of Kent School who had personal information – including photographs, videos, and email communications –stored on an electronic device that was accessed, transferred, copied, retained, or utilized by Daniel Clery without their knowledge or consent from September 2016 through February 2023.
The court certified the class as to liability issues on the plaintiffs' claims for negligence, recklessness, and violation of CUTPA. Individual damages proceedings will follow. The court appointed SGT as co-lead class counsel.
August 24, 2026: Court Approves Notice to Class Members
A notice of the pending class action was issued to current and former Kent School students who may be members of the certified class. The court authorized the notice on August 24, 2026. It explains the claims, the issues the court certified for a class-wide trial, and class members’ rights and options.
Class members who wish to remain in the class do not need to take any action. Those who wish to exclude themselves must mail a signed written request, postmarked no later than December 31, 2026, to:
Attorney Jennifer Sclar
Silver Golub & Teitell LLP
One Landmark Square, 15th Floor
Stamford, CT 06901
Exclusion requests cannot be made by phone or email. Class members who exclude themselves will not share in any recovery from this case.
Contact
If you are a current or former student of Kent School and believe your personal information may have been accessed without your consent, you may be a member of the certified class. SGT handles this matter on a contingency basis. There are no out-of-pocket costs to you.
To learn more about your rights or to discuss your situation confidentially, please contact us using the form on this page or email class counsel at LearyClassAction@sgtlaw.com.
