A victim who sues a public entity, such as a public school, could be awarded up to $890,000, according to the proposed legislation. However, a victim who sues a private entity, such as a Catholic Church, could be awarded up to $1.5 million, which is nearly 70% more than public entities.
The legislation would also be retroactive, which means victims could file lawsuits against entities even if the current statute of limitations has already passed. The current statute of limitations for suing entities is seven years from the day before the victim’s 18th birthday. For lawsuits against direct offenders, the statute of limitations is 20 years after the person turns 18.
“These bills treat public and private institutions differently by setting a lower ceiling on how much a public school board, for example, could be sued compared to a private institution such as a parish or nonpublic school,” the Maryland Catholic Conference told Crux. “This creates two classes of survivors and greatly increases the financial harm to the Church and its ministries.”
In the email to the news outlet, the conference also criticized the unlimited window.
“The draconian provision of an unlimited window for currently time-barred civil cases to be filed, regardless of when they occurred, is nearly unprecedented among similar laws passed in other states,” the email read.
Similar rules in other states have financially damaged dioceses throughout the country over abuse allegations that span a half of a century or more. Last week, the Diocese of Albany filed for bankruptcy after settling more than 50 lawsuits, some of which date back to the 1970s. The Diocese of Oakland may need to declare bankruptcy for similar reasons.
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