Lawsuit charges GSE prof violated civil rights

A professor in the Graduate School of Education used intimidation and propaganda to prevent a home for the mentally ill from opening in his suburban neighborhood, a federal lawsuit charges. Paul McDermott, chairperson of GSE's Psychology of Education Department, will be served today with formal documents alleging he "conducted a campaign of slander, hate and fear against the disabled" in Bucks County, Pa. The suit, filed last Wednesday in U.S. District Court, also accuses McDermott's wife, Andrea, of using fear tactics to halt the home's development. McDermott has been a member of the GSE faculty since 1977, according to Maureen Cotterill, administrative coordinator for the Psychology of Education Department. He currently teaches classes in research, design, methodology, psychological assessment, advanced multivariable statistics and advanced psychometric methods. "Dr. McDermott will continue to teach his classes as far as I know," Cotterill said. "I speak to him every day, but we do not discuss the lawsuit." In the lawsuit, Salisbury House Inc., based in Allentown, Pa., claims the McDermotts forced the company to withdraw its plans to open a home for mentally ill adults. The suit says the couple distributed more than 1,000 leaflets portraying the home as an "imminent danger" and told the media "these are not the kind of people you want in the community." Edmond Tiryak, attorney for Salisbury House, described the situation as "brutally bizarre." "By day, McDermott educates Penn kids about mental disabilities," said Tiryak, a 1974 graduate of the University's Law School who devotes his practice to civil rights cases. "By night, he returns home and threatens potential neighbors. His tactics are no different than Klan members running a black family out of a neighborhood," Tiryak added. Thomas York, attorney for the McDermotts, said his clients deny all charges brought against them. "By far, safety consideration for themselves and the neighborhood is Paul and Andrea's largest concern about the Salisbury House," York said. "Also, they were not the only people who opposed the residence. If you polled the neighborhood, I am sure the McDermotts would have overwhelming support." The lawsuit alleges that the McDermotts led a neighborhood protest that generated hysteria among residents, in violation of the federal Fair Housing Amendments Act. The suit, which seeks unspecified damages, claims that Paul McDermott portrayed himself as an psychology expert and used the University's name without authorization. Last month, Salisbury House notified officials in Bucks County that it was abandoning plans to buy and convert an old farmhouse on a three-acre lot into a residence for mentally ill adults. The farmhouse is across the street from the McDermotts' home. According to the lawsuit, the protest led by the McDermotts created such a "storm of rage and lawlessness," including threats to destroy the home, that the company was forced to give up its "lawful right to use the property." York disagrees with that description of the McDermotts' protest. "The lawsuit is a gross exaggeration -- definitely not an account of what really happened," he said. "They claim Paul used psychological warfare, but I have seen no evidence of wrong action." But Tiryak said Salisbury House officials were clearly "intimidated" out of the Bucks County area as a direct result of the McDermotts' actions. "The McDermotts poisoned the community so badly that Salisbury House could not proceed," Tiryak said. Salisbury House hoped to open the group home to nine mentally ill people "who needed a residential placement due to a mental health crisis, but who were not sufficiently ill to require a hospital stay," the suit says. A leaflet drafted by the McDermotts and circulated to more than 1,000 area homes claimed the occupants of the home could pose a "direct risk" to neighbors, the suit states. York said the McDermotts were especially concerned because there were a day care center and elementary school in the area. But the lawsuit states that the Salisbury House offered to give tours of other similar homes currently in operation to reassure neighbors about safety concerns. "I have seen a lot of zoning hearings where uneducated people ruin plans for important housing of disabled people," Tiryak said. "But this is the first time that a distinguished and educated person has used a university name to promote common misconceptions." Salisbury House officials have asked the Pennsylvania Human Relations Committee to file charges against McDermott.