Maine's Supreme Judicial Court is hearing a challenge to the state's elimination of the statute of limitations for lawsuits in child sex abuse cases.
A lawyer for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland told supreme court justices Thursday that Maine ’s elimination of time limits on child sex abuse lawsuits is unconstitutional and imposes new liabilities, a reference to costly lawsuits that have driven some dioceses into bankruptcy. But an attorney whose law firm represents about 100 plaintiffs characterized the law as the 'will of the people' versus the diocese’s expectation of brushing past conduct under a rug.
The diocese has argued that the elimination of the time limit takes away previously established rights, called 'vested rights.' But in February, Justice Thomas McKeon ruled that vested rights generally apply to property rights, not statutes of limitations, and that the law can apply to institutions as well as individuals. But the judge also wrote that it was a 'close case' and that attorneys for the diocese had raised 'serious' constitutional concerns.
The diocese is committed to thoroughly investigating any report of abuse brought forth and to providing extensive support services to those who come forward with any allegation of abuse,' the diocese said.
Maine Supreme Court Child Sex Abuse Lawsuits Constitutionality Roman Catholic Diocese Of Portland Liabilities Bankruptcy
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