Victims of childhood sexual abuse at the hands of the Archdiocese of Washington D.C. and other entities are speaking out in favor of the Child Victims Act as the Maryland Supreme Court is set to hear a case challenging the law next week.
“If we don’t uphold the Child Victim Act, what message are we sending to predators?” said Eva Dittrich, one of the survivors. “We are telling them it’s ok.”
Next week the Supreme Court will hear arguments from lawyers representing the victims and the Church.
The Child Victims Act abolished the statute of limitations on people suing their abusers.
The Archdiocese, the Key School and others claim that they are exempt from the new law because a 2017 law already established a statute of limitations.
“They believe that there was a statute in 2017 that gave them a vested right not to be subject to any lawsuits,” said Robert Jenner, managing partner at Jenner Law, which represents the victims. “The question is whether that is accurate. In other words, can a legislature change a law that a subsequent legislature has decided is not in the best interest of Maryland citizens, and that's the question that we have to ask.”
The Archdiocese’s legal challenge failed with a Prince George’s County judge last year, hence the appeal to the Supreme Court.
Jenner said the proceedings will take about 200 minutes, but it could be months before a decision is handed down.
More than 30 clergy and employees of the Washington Archdiocese has been creditable accused of sexual assault, according to the Archdiocese.
Meanwhile, the Baltimore Archdiocese is taking a different approach.
The Church filed for bankruptcy last October.
“Chapter 11 reorganization is the best path forward to compensate equitably all victim-survivors, given the Archdiocese’s limited financial resources, which would have otherwise been exhausted on litigation,” Baltimore Archbishop William Lori said in an open letter to his congregation. “Staggering legal fees and large settlements or jury awards for a few victim-survivors would have depleted our financial resources, leaving the vast majority of victim-survivors without compensation, while ending ministries that families across Maryland rely on for material and spiritual support.”
Filings show that the Archdiocese was retaining lawyers and consultants that probably advised the Church on how it should move forward with the abuse cases. The filings show the Church paid more than a quarter of a million dollars for legal advice on bankruptcy.
The filings also show the organization has more than $200 million in assets, which include a Tiffany tea set, a diamond-encrusted crucifix, a sapphire-studded locket and dozens of solid gold rings.
The bankruptcy court is now determining the veracity of claims brought against the Church and will decide how much each person will receive.
Jenner said the Supreme Court case will likely have no impact on the bankruptcy proceedings.
