Boy Scouts seeks dismissal of clergy sex abuse cases in local court

By Haidee V Eugenio
Pacific Daily News
July 24, 2017

http://www.guampdn.com/story/news/2017/07/24/boy-scouts-seeks-dismissal-clergy-sex-abuse-cases-local-court/503788001/

Father Louis Brouillard is shown in an undated photo from the Pacific Daily News archives.

A 2016 Guam law does not allow the Boy Scouts of America to be retroactively sued for alleged child sexual abuse, its attorney stated in documents filed in the Superior Court of Guam.

"The court should dismiss with prejudice all claims against BSA and Aloha Council," Boy Scouts attorney Patrick Civille said in a July 14 motion to dismiss.

Civille stated the 2016 law retroactively lifted the statute of limitations for childhood sexual abuse cases, but only for cases against the alleged abusers. He said the laws does not allow cases to be filed against third parties or institutions, such as the Boy Scouts, that are associated with the alleged abusers.

Former Guam priest Louis Brouillard, who also was a scoutmaster, allegedly sexually abused minor boy scouts during scouting activities and on parish grounds, dozens of lawsuits filed in local and federal court state. Most of the cases accusing Brouillard list the Boy Scouts, its Aloha Council Chamorro District and the Archdiocese of Agana as defendants. Four of those cases name only the church, and not the Boy Scouts as defendants.

Civille, in his filing, said the 2016 law made two changes. It lifted the statute of limitations for all defendants in future cases, and allows claims to be filed retroactively against abusers.

He said the law makes no reference to the statute of limitations being lifted for third-party enablers or abettors.

Civille stated Guam lawmakers rejected an alternative version of the bill that also would have eliminated the statute of limitations for third parties.

Civille also stated applying the law retroactively to the Boy Scouts and the Aloha would violate their rights to due process of law.

He stated any defendant would find it hard to answer charges related to allegations of abuse from the 1970s and allegations of negligence dating back to the 1920s, for example.

The Boy Scouts filed a motion to dismiss seven of the cases involving Brouillard and the Boy Scouts, based on documents obtained and interviews Monday with two of the lawyers representing plaintiffs in local court.

Attorney Michael Berman, who represents two Brouillard accusers, said Judge Michael Bordallo gave his clients until Aug. 11 to respond to the Boy Scouts' motion. The Boys Scouts have until Aug. 25 to reply to Berman's filing. A hearing date has yet to be rescheduled, Berman said, since he asked the judge to reset the initial date because of an off-island trip.