On July 14, 2026, the West Hartford Town Council unanimously agreed to a $20 million settlement in a wrongful death lawsuit filed in 2023 related to the death of Romeo D. Pierre Louis at Charter Oak International Academy.

By Ronni Newton

The Town of West Hartford has reached a $20 million settlement – the largest in the town’s history – as resolution of a wrongful death lawsuit filed in Connecticut Superior Court on April 5, 2023 in the matter of Romeo D. Pierre Louis, then a kindergartener at Charter Oak International Academy, who experienced a cardiac emergency, collapsed on the school’s playground during recess on April 5, 2022, and passed away in the hospital two days later.

Any settlement made by West Hartford’s Office of Corporation Counsel in excess of $10,000 must be approved by the Town Council, Deputy Corporation Counsel Gina Varano said at Tuesday night’s virtual special meeting. The settlement had previously been discussed in depth during an executive session of the West Hartford Town Council on June 9, 2026, and all Council members had been fully briefed on the agreed-to terms, Mayor Shari Cantor said.

While Tuesday night’s agenda indicated an executive session, it was not needed and a resolution approving the settlement was adopted unanimously in a roll call vote.

“I want to take a moment to acknowledge the incredibly tragic circumstances that gave rise to this matter,” Cantor said Tuesday, “The loss of a child is a pain no family should ever have to endure. Romeo’s passing was a heart-breaking loss that was felt not only by his family but throughout our entire community,” she said, extending deepest sympathies on behalf of the town to all impacted. “While tonight’s discussion involves a legal matter before the Council, we should never lose sight of the fact that at the center of this case is a young person whose life touched many others,” she added, calling for a moment of silence.

According to a statement from the town, other than legal costs incurred totalling approximately $250,000 – the amount for which the town is self-insured – the settlement will be completely funded through the town’s excess liability insurance coverage. “After extensive review and consideration of extensive circumstances, the town’s insurance carriers have agreed to tender the full limits of their policies to the resolution of this matter,” Varano said.

Online court records indicate that the case had been scheduled to go to trial beginning with jury selection on Sept. 10, 2026.

“As part of the settlement, the parties have agreed to resolve all claims arising from this matter, bringing the litigation to a conclusion,” the town said in the statement.

Varano said that while the settlement “represents a negotiated resolution of disputed claims and does not constitute an admission of wrongdoing,” litigation would carry significant uncertainty and risk, with the possibility of an outcome that would exceed the town’s available insurance.

“This office believes the settlement is the most prudent and responsible course of action,” Varano said.

The complaint, Chantel T. Pierre Louis, Individually et al. v. Town of West Hartford et al., sought unspecified damages in excess of $15,000 – a standard dollar amount used in an initial filing indicating that the case should be in the jurisdiction of Superior Court – for negligence that led to the wrongful death of Romeo Pierre Louis, noting that he “was allowed to collapse and lay on the ground for nearly 10 minutes without any assistance or medical treatment – despite several teachers” being in close proximity and “despite several minor children” warning teachers that Romeo needed medical attention.

The suit alleged that school personnel failed to comply with policies to “call 911 immediately from an area of emergency if there is a ‘potentially life threatening event involving ‘significant bleeding, breathing difficulty, [or] loss of consciousness … ” and “left Romeo unprotected and without timely medical assistance. Had the defendant Board’s employees complied with the mandatory provisions of the Board’s policies and procedures (as described above), and as required, Romeo would have received the necessary medical attention he needed and would have survived,” the complaint states.

Prior to adjourning Tuesday night’s meeting, following the unanimous approval of a resolution authorizing the $20 million settlement, Cantor said, “No words can fully express the sorry we feel for the loss of Romeo. We hope that in time they find comfort and healing surrounded by the love of their family, friends, and the many members of our community continue to hold them in our thoughts and prayers.”

West Hartford Corporation Counsel Dallas C. Dodge also provided the following regarding the settlement: “This settlement reflects a negotiated resolution of disputed claims and does not constitute an admission of liability or wrongdoing by the Town, the Board of Education, or any Town employee. While the Town believed it had substantial legal and factual defenses, litigation inherently carries risk. After careful consideration of those risks and the potential exposure associated with a trial, the Town determined that this resolution is in the best financial interest of the community.”

The online record of the case, which had been actively working its way through the Superior Court since April 2023, includes more than 70 entries, including an “Offer of Compromise” from the plaintiffs dated May 23, 2024, seeking a $25 million settlement.

Several amendments were made to the original complaint, online court records show, including the removal of two counts of loss of parental consortium, which is not recognized under Connecticut law.

In a entry dated July 15, 2025, the defendants filed a Motion for Summary Judgement on the remaining counts, which included claims of negligence – asserting that those claims are barred by governmental immunity – as well as two counts related to recklessness that the defendants stated “merely parrot the allegations of the negligence claims.”

After hearing oral arguments, on Feb. 27, 2026, Supreme Court Judge, the Honorable Stuart Rosen denied the Motion for Summary Judgement on the negligence claims, but granted the motion on the recklessness counts.

Following a review of submitted evidence, including video surveillance, and testimony related to alleged school employees’ negligence in following of proper supervision policies during recess, Rosen stated in his ruling on the Motion for Summary Judgement that it should be up to a jury to determine whether governmental immunity applies in the case.

According to Rosen’s memorandum accompanying his decision on the Motion for Summary Judgement, “Video surveillance footage establishes that [Romeo] was lying motionless on the ground for some nine and one-half minutes before the defendants came to his aid.” While the location where Romeo had collapsed was not visible from where the teachers were standing, the video footage shows that approximately five minutes after Romeo collapsed, another kindergarten student approached a teacher on the playground and said that Romeo was lying on the ground “and that ‘Romeo is dead,'” Rosen wrote.

More than eight minutes passed between the time of the collapse until one of the adult supervisors “discovers that Romeo is on the ground and checks to see if he is breathing or has a pulse,” the judge’s memorandum on the motion states.

Police investigation of the incident

An incident report completed by the West Hartford Police Department, provided to We-Ha.com following a request under the Freedom of Information Act, stated that units were dispatched to Charter Oak International Academy on April 5, 2022, at 11:05 a.m. “for a medical emergency.” The police report indicates that units responding were informed that “a child was not breathing and CPR was in progress.”

Romeo Pierre Louis was not named in the police report, but was referred to as “the juvenile.” The names of his family members as well as the names of personnel and students at Charter Oak have been redacted from the police report.

According to the initial police report, witnesses told police that “the juvenile was located by other kids on the playground and the kids thought the juvenile was pretending to sleep.” While at that point the timeline had not been established, police in their initial report stated that “kids then noticed that the juvenile was not pretending and told an adult nearby. The adult immediately radioed to other staff that the juvenile was unresponsive and he was brought inside to the nurse’s station where CPR was started.”

Police said in their report that a school nurse provided CPR to the juvenile, and attached an AED to his chest. A police officer, who had already responded to the scene, delivered the shock from the AED. Additional responders, including members of the West Hartford Fire Department and AMR, arrived at the scene and continued to administer CPR.

Romeo was transported to Connecticut Children’s Medical Center, where according to the police report he “regained his pulse and was stabilized.”

Police said they checked the recess yard and did not find any evidence, and the investigation did not result in any evidence, of foul play. The police report states that footage from the school surveillance cameras, which was reviewed later, shows that Romeo had “suddenly collapse[d] while on the western side of the north playground and was not discovered by teachers for approximately nine (9) minutes.”

There were bees in the area, but the police report indicates that Romeo’s parents were not aware that he had any allergies to bees or any foods. Police did not discover evidence of any narcotics at the scene, their report states.

Children who had been playing with Romeo during recess told police that they had been playing “freeze tag” when Romeo then fell and stopped breathing. “None of the children mentioned anything about seeing him bump his head, ingest anything, or say anything which could lead to a possible indicator as to why [Romeo] collapsed,” the police report states.

The police report states that Romeo’s teacher told police that he “appeared to arrive to school normally and went outside with his normal energy. He was engaged and playing normally with his classmates.” The report states that another child told a teacher that Romeo was “playing dead,” but the police report states that a teacher initially thought the children were playing a game because “they normally play games where they fall to the ground.”

Another Charter Oak staff member also told police that the children often played a game where they pretend to be dead, but when that person saw Romeo lying on his back on the ground they observed that he was not moving and then immediately checked for a pulse, which Romeo did not have, staff then carried him into the nurse’s office where personnel began CPR.

The police report states: “Based upon all available information, it was believed to be a sudden medical episode and not brought on by malicious actors or exterior criminal elements.”

Police said they spoke with the attending physician at Connecticut Children’s on April 7, at 11:24 a.m., and were informed by that Romeo “was declared officially brain dead al 11:18.”

The police report indicates that autopsy results were received by police on Aug. 23, 2022. “The report listed the cause of death as ‘cardiac channelopathy, brugada syndrome (sen5a variant)‘ – which is a “genetic disorder that can cause a dangerous irregular heartbeat” according to a description by johnshopkinsmedical.org, and listed the manner of death as ‘natural.’”

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