A civil suit alleging a young New Jersey boy was verbally abused and harassed by two other youths at the parochial school he attended cannot pursue a claim under the state's Law Against Discrimination, an appeals court has ruled.

The three-judge Appellate Division panel agreed with the court below that the boy, identified in the decision only as G.A., cannot sue the school or the Catholic diocese that operates it since the LAD has an “explicit exception for parochial schools.” The court rejected what it called the plaintiffs' “strained interpretation” of an LAD provision against refusing to enter a contract with someone for a discriminatory reason.

The lawsuit alleged that G.A. was subjected to harassment and bullying for the three years he attended St. Mary of the Lakes School in Medford. The school is owned and operated by the Diocese of Trenton.

Appellate Division Judges Carmen Alvarez, William Nugent and Heidi Currier did not go into detail about the abuse, but said it was “disturbing, disgusting, and deviant.”

The lawsuit was filed by the boy's mother, identified as L.A., who acknowledged that the LAD contains an exemption for parochial schools. However, the lawsuit relied on another provision of the LAD that prohibits “any person to refuse to … contract with … any other person on the basis of … sex, gender, identity or expression, affectional or sexual orientation.”

Burlington County Superior Court Judge Janet Smith dismissed the lawsuit on summary judgment, saying the plaintiffs failed to state a viable claim under that provision of the LAD.

“We agree,” the appeals court judges said, although they acknowledged the “novel” approach of the plaintiffs in the attempt to support their claim.

Smith said allowing the lawsuit to proceed would render the exemption for parochial schools “meaningless.”

“The Legislature certainly did not intend to render meaningless a section of the LAD,” the appeals court said.

According to the ruling, the verbal abuse and harassment continued for the three years G.A. attended the school, beginning when he was 5 years old.

Eventually, one of G.A.'s parents contacted the school principal and several teachers, who expressed concern and promised to counsel the older boys and separate them from G.A., who also was seeing a psychiatrist.

The parent then contacted a monsignor at the diocese and said the family was considering withdrawing G.A. from the school. “'I think it's best that you do leave,'” the lawsuit alleges the monsignor responded.

On G.A.'s last day of school, the principal, according to the lawsuit, accused him of “making all of this up” and causing “a lot of trouble for nothing.”

The lawsuit was filed after G.A. left the school.

The plaintiffs' attorney, Deborah Mains of Costello & Mains in Mount Laurel, said only that the ruling was “disappointing” and that an appeal to the Supreme Court is planned.

The attorney representing the diocese and the school, Caroline Berdzik of the Princeton office of Goldberg Segalla, declined to comment.