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Back Story: The statue of limitations on child sex claims has expanded. Now what?

By Kristina Davis
San Diego Tribune
October 20, 2019

https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/courts/story/2019-10-20/back-story-the-statue-of-limitations-on-child-sex-claims-expanded

For this week’s In Depth, reporter Kristina Davis took a deeper look at what we can expect now that AB 218 has passed, opening the litigation process to significantly more people who claim they were sexually abused as children.

Here’s more behind the story:

Q: Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the law last Sunday. Was this expected?

A: Yes, he had indicated early support for the law, but he signed it on the last possible day, which had many people on edge.

Q: How big of a deal is this law?

A: I’d say it’s a pretty big deal. Not only is it opening up a three-year window allowing anyone to file a lawsuit on child sex assault claims, no matter how old the alleged incident or the plaintiff is, the law also permanently expands the statute of limitations, allowing people as old as 40 to sue.

Victims and their advocates are calling the law a huge win, especially as the long-lasting effects of trauma are gaining wider recognition. Obviously, this will mean a lot more lawsuits in California, which brings up logistical questions on how to manage the influx. It also means certain institutions are facing more exposure and may have to figure out ways to stay afloat.

Q: And how will courts manage all of these cases?

A: It’s a question that New York is dealing with right now. That state just opened a similar one-year window. What might happen is certain courts or judges will be assigned to manage cases by defendant types. So all of the Catholic Church cases will go one place, and so on. Many lawsuits may be filed in bundles, by the same attorney suing one entity, with a large group of plaintiffs who have similar causes of action yet individualized facts.

Q: Your story seems to focus a lot on the Boy Scouts. Why is that?

A: This is an emerging area of litigation as more and more former Scouts are claiming abuse that goes back decades — very reminiscent of the scandal involving the Catholic Church. With more states loosening statues of limitations for these kinds of cases, I think we will see many of these cases play out over the next few years. It will also be important to follow how the litigation affects the Boy Scout organization’s ability to continue operating.

The focus on the Scout claims is not meant to minimize claims of abuse within other organizations or community spheres. And even with the multitude of Catholic cases that have been brought over the years, I’m hearing many more will be litigated due to this law.

Q: You spoke with a few men who say they were abused in the Boy Scouts. Did anything stand out to you in particular about their stories?

A: I’d say the biggest takeaway was just how long-lasting the trauma is, and how hard the decision is for them to take further action by suing, even as middle-aged men. But one of them, Keith, told me that he wanted to leave other victims with this message: “This is a survivable thing — it’s just not easily survived. We can grow out of it and still become the people we were meant to be.”

Contact: kristina.davis@sduniontribune.com




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