The California school claims that the plaintiffs’ — including the teen boy’s — “own negligence” was the “sole” cause of his fatal injuries

A California private school has responded to a lawsuit claiming it was responsible for the 2025 death of one of its students.

Cosmo Silverman, 15, was killed in the pickup area of Campbell Hall, an elite K-12 private school in Studio City, on June 4 after getting crushed between two SUVs at the end of the school day, according to a wrongful death suit obtained by PEOPLE filed in Los Angeles County by his parents, Adam and Louise Silverman, in December.

Campbell Hall has since filed an answer to the wrongful death suit. In the response, which was filed on Feb. 26 and obtained by PEOPLE, the school claims it was not responsible for Cosmo’s death. The school further claims that Cosmo’s “own negligence was the sole and proximate cause of the accident and any injuries they sustained.”

The school also filed a cross-complaint against the alleged driver of a vehicle that struck Cosmo, the driver’s father, who the school claims owned the car, and the car company Rivian, which the cross-complaint claims manufactured the vehicle.

Campbell Hall argued that if the courts find Campbell Hall liable, then the above parties should be found liable in an amount based on their degree of fault.

A legal representative for the alleged driver and alleged owner of the vehicle did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.

Rivian did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.

Adam and Louise’s attorney, Robert Glassman, called the school’s allegations in the recent court filings “ludicrous, vile and heartless,” in an emailed statement to PEOPLE.

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“The allegations against Rivian are equally frivolous because the Rivian was already thoroughly inspected by the Los Angeles Police Department and experts hired by the parties who all found the vehicle had no mechanical failures or defects,” he continued.

The attorney added, “It’s shameful the school is now blaming its own students for its massive shortcomings and failures to fix the problems in the parking lot — which they were on actual notice of — before an innocent child was killed there.”

Campbell Hall did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.

In the wrongful death suit filed by Cosmo’s parents, the couple argued that the school was responsible for their son’s death, claiming that Campbell Hall waited until after the tragedy to implement “a series of basic safety measures that should have been in place long before the incident ever happened.”

“The lawsuit wasn’t filed out of anger, but out of necessity,” Glassman told the Los Angeles Times after the suit was filed.

In a previous statement to PEOPLE, Glassman said that Cosmo’s parents allegedly “tried to engage in good-faith discussions so they could focus on grieving their beautiful son rather than being dragged into court,” but claimed that the “school’s insurance company refused to meaningfully negotiate or take responsibility, leaving the family with no choice but to file this lawsuit.”

“This case is about making the school accountable for the significant role its dangerously designed parking lot played in Cosmo’s death and ensuring that no other family has to endure the same preventable tragedy,” he added.

Head of School Rev. Canon Julian P. Bull previously acknowledged the lawsuit in a letter to the school community, though noted they would make “no further public comment at this time,” due to the fact that “this is ongoing litigation.”

“Our prayers continue to be with the Silverman family and all of Cosmo’s loved ones, friends and classmates,” he added.