CHILD USA filed this amicus brief in support of the Plaintiff-Appellant, urging the Court of Appeals to reject the District Court’s decision that misconstrued the CVA’s revival provision to deny victims long-awaited justice. CHILD USA argues that creating an affirmative defense out of the revival...
Cohane v. The Home Missioners of America d/b/a Glenmary Home Missioners
CHILD USA filed this amicus brief in support of Plaintiff and urged the Court to uphold the constitutionality of North Carolina’s 2019 revival window as applied to all types of defendants. This brief argues that both the statutory text and legislative history clearly support entity liability and...
J.R. v. Delaware County Department of Human Services, Office of Children and Youth Services
CHILD USA filed this amicus brief in support of Plaintiffs-Appellees to provide the Commonwealth Court with current research and analysis regarding Pennsylvania’s state tort immunity exception for child sexual abuse claims and arguing that the statutory text and legislative history support...
GREGORY COHANE v. THE HOME MISSIONERS OF AMERICA d/b/a GLEMARY HOME MISSIONERS, ROMAN CATHOLIC DIOCESE OF CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA, and AL BEHM
CHILD USA filed this brief in support of Plaintiff-Appellant seeking reversal of the Superior Court decision dismissing their negligence claims on the grounds that the SAFE Child Act's revival window provision does not apply to claims against entities. CHILD USA argues that the express language of...
RIA WILLIAMS v. KINGDOM HALL OF JEHOVAH’S WITNESSES, ROY, UTAH
This amicus brief was written to request a ruling by the Supreme Court of Utah after a lower court found that the First Amendment immunizes religious institutions from liability for tortious claims arising from a religiously-motivated sexual assault investigation. CHILD USA examined the ways in...
L.F.V., et al v. SOUTH PHILADELPHIA HIGH SCHOOL and THE PHILADELPHIA SCHOOL DISTRICT
In this amicus curiae brief, CHILD USA provides research and analysis regarding Pennsylvania’s state tort immunity exception for child sexual abuse claims, the compelling public interest in permitting all sexual assault claims to proceed against local agencies, the public safety impacts of...
Has Maine Fought Catholic Sex Abuse?
by Leslie C. Griffin* I am waiting for the Maine Supreme Court to decide a case about sexual abuse and the statute of limitations [SOL].1 Statutes of limitations are rules that explain when the courts are open or closed to victims of abuse. I am particularly interested in the implications of that...
The History of Catholic Abuse in Maine
by Leslie C. Griffin* The abuse of children by Catholic clergy has a long history in the State of Maine. The Beginning Some initial news about Catholic Maine abuse was released when the Maine Supreme Court ordered it. In Blethen Maine Newspapers v. Maine, 871 A.2d 523 (Me. 2005), the Supreme Court...
The Maryland Supreme Court Should Find The Maryland Child Victims Act of 2023 Constitutional
by Rob Jenner Jenner Law, P.C. Baltimore, Maryland Last month a dedicated team of lawyers presented oral argument before the Maryland Supreme Court in support of the Maryland Child Victims Act (CVA) of 2023. The heart of the legal battle concerned the statutory language that existed in the 2017...