Child Victims Act

The value of every case is different and the maximum value can only be determined by an experienced attorney.  Many factors go into determining the value and these will be discussed in detail with you.  Past results do not guarantee future successes.  Nonetheless, clients have told us that the closure that legal action provides is more valuable than the money.

Sexual abuse litigation in the United States almost always ends in settlement. Until recently, the Catholic bishops dealt with cases on a one-by-one basis and required confidentiality agreements as a condition of settlement. This strategy was apparently intended to prevent victims from connecting with one another and to keep cases out of the media.

• The total value of sexual abuse settlements in the United States is well over $3 billion.

• • The Catholic Diocese of Rochester quietly paid $1.5 million in 2016 to a man who alleged a priest sexually abused him more than three decades ago when he was a teenager.   It was the second lawsuit that the Diocese of Rochester settled involving allegations of abuse by James A. Spielman, a former diocesan priest who served in at least six Western New York parishes and taught religion at Archbishop Walsh High School.
  • The Roman Catholic Diocese of Rochester has paid $1,616,000 in compensation to at least 20 children who had been sexually abused by 24 priests since 1950. The number of victims is likely higher because not all of the victims accepted financial compensation. Most cases have settled since the Catholic clergy sex abuse scandal erupted in 2002.

• The Diocese of Rockville Centre in Long Island has offered between $25,000 and $50,000 to 221 of the 293 people who have filed claims since it opened its independent compensation program in 2017.

• In one of the largest settlements ever awarded to individual victims of abuse within the Church, four men, who were repeatedly sexually abused as children by a religion teacher at a Roman Catholic Church, reached a $27.5 million settlement with the Diocese of Brooklyn and a local after-school program. The victims were repeatedly abused by Angelo Serrano, 67, who taught catechism classes and helped organize the religious education programs at St. Lucy’s-St. Patrick’s Church in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn.
• Between 2016 and 2018, the Archdiocese of New York paid out close to $60 million to sexual abuse victims.  So far, 278 victims — including a teen molested by a priest at Cardinal Hayes High School in the Bronx in the early 1980s — have been paid $59,950,000 through the archdiocese’s Independent Reconciliation and Compensation Program.
• For more, see www.bishop-accountability.org/settlements/

No, it is just the opposite. It is not only your right, but your responsibility to bring legal action against the Church and the individuals who committed these unspeakable crimes.  Your actions could save many others from suffering similar abuses.   Even the head of the Catholic Church, strongly feels there is no other appropriate response. On May 13, 2018, 60 Minutes aired an interview with Pope Francis during which he was asked about pedophilia in the Church.  The Pope responded “Towards pedophilia, zero tolerance! And the church must punish such priests, who have that problem, and bishops must remove from their priestly functions anyone with that disease, that tendency to pedophilia, and that includes supporting the legal action by the parents before the civil courts.  There is no other way out of this!”

New York’s Child Victims Act gives expanded rights to survivors of sexual abuse by extending the statute of limitations for bringing a claim.  This applies to both civil and criminal claims against priests, teachers, counselors, and anyone else who has committed sexual abuse.

Formerly, those who were sexually abused as children could only bring civil and criminal claims up until the age of 23.   Under the new law, victims can bring civil claims up until the age of 55 and criminal claims up until the age of 28. The Child Victim’s Act will also provide all abuse survivors, regardless of their current age, until August 13, 2021 to bring legal action against their abusers. Beginning on August 14, 2019, even those that were previously time-barred by the statute of limitations can file claims even if their abusers have died. The United States Bankruptcy Court, however has set a deadline of November 16, 2020 for filing bankruptcy claims against the Boy Scouts of America.

In recognition of the fact that many victims have already been forced to wait years for access to the justice system, the new law will give trial preference to revived cases.  Judges will also be required to undergo additional training concerning crimes involving sexual abuse of minors.

The Child Victim’s Act will also treat public and private entities equally by removing current notice of claim provisions for public entities and further clarifying that both entities are subject to the one-year look-back window.

When this  time  is up on August 13, 2021, however, so is the opportunity to bring certain claims.  Furthermore, the  window may be significantly shortened if a defendant (such as a diocese or the Boy Scouts) declares bankruptcy.  It is incredibly important, therefore, to contact an attorney as soon as possible to learn about your options since your time to file a claim may be limited.