Victims of sexual abuse by
Catholic clergy or by authority
figures at school have rights.
NEW YORK AND NEW JERSEY LAW HAVE
EXTENDED THE TIME PERIOD IN WHICH TO FILE
YOUR SEXUAL ABUSE CLAIM. ACT NOW TO GET
YOUR CLAIM TIMELY FILED.
COURIER L 12 IFE, AUG. 16-22, 2019
‘They deserve to have
their day in court’
Law gives child sex victims formerly barred
from fi ling lawsuits one year to seek justice
The Childhood Victims Act takes effect on August 14, allowing people who were sexaully
abused as minors to bring civil suits, regardless of how much time has passed.
Photo via Shutterstock
BY AIDAN GRAHAM
It’s offi cially open season on pedophiles.
A new law allowing victims of
childhood sexual abuse to get their day
in court took effect Wednesday morning,
providing victims who were prohibited
from fi ling suit due to statute
of limitations with a one year “look
back” period to exact justice against
their attackers
“We know from statistics that a lot
of survivors of childhood sexual abuse
don’t come froward until their 50s,”
said litigation attorney Michelle Simpson
Tuegel, speaking of the Childhood
Victim’s Act which passed in February.
“They deserve to have their own
day in court — and justice.”
Previously, victims who suffered
abuse as minors had fi ve years following
their 18th birthday to fi le a civil
action against sexual predators and
the institutions which harbored them.
The new law opens the fl oodgates for
victims who were previously barred
from seeking restitution, according
to Tuegel, who will be litigating abuse
cases on behalf of the law fi rm Seeger
Weiss.
“It will be in the hundreds — if not
thousands — by the time it’s all said
and done,” she said. “We’ll have to wait
and see.”
Many individual abusers will face
lawsuits under the new law, but the
bigger impact will be on the organizations
that employed and protected
them, according to Tuegel.
“It’s mostly institutions... but we
would name the individual perpetrator
along with the institution, if they
are still alive,” she said. “The institution
is often the one that allowed it to
go on for so long.”
Tuegel expects the Catholic Church
— which spent more than $2 million
lobbying against the Childhood Victim’s
Act in New York — will be a
prime target under the new law, and
the attorney noted that the Archdiocese
of New York pro-actively sued insurance
companies following the passage
of the bill to ensure coverage of
monetary settlements for abuse claims
resulting from the new law.
“Some dioceses may have to declare
bankruptcy,” said Tuegel. “We’ve
dealt with that in other sexual abuse
litigation, and we’re expect that could
happen with some of the smaller dioceses.”
Other likely defendants include the
Boy Scouts of America, along with educational
and sports organizations,
Tuegel said.
In addition to the year-long look
back period, the new law also expands
the statute of limitations for future
cases brought after the year-long
look back period — allowing future
victims to bring civil suits against
abusers 37 years, and criminal complaints
10 years following their 18th
birthday.
And while the majority of litigants
come to the courts demanding a monetary
settlement, what truly motivates
them is the desire for closure and
peace, said Tuegel.
“A lot of clients, when they call us
and tell us they want to hire an attorney,
money isn’t part of the discussion,”
she said. “They are very much
motivated by having dealt with this
their whole lives, and feeling like the
opening of this statute gives them the
ability to demand accountability.”
DEMAND JUSTICE
CLERGY ABUSE ATTORNEY HOTLINE 800-444-9112
ATTORNEY ADVERTISING
DOUGLAS & LONDON, P.C. 59 MAIDEN LN, 6TH FLOOR, NEW YORK, NY 10038
THE MATTHEWS LAW FIRM, PLLC, 244 5TH AVENUE, SUITE 2882, NY, NY 10001
MAIN OFFICE: 2905 SACKETT STREET, HOUSTON, TEXAS 77098
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