Maine’s high court strikes down removal of time limits on child sex abuse lawsuits

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Maine’s highest court on Tuesday ruled against a law that removed the statute of limitations for civil claims about child sexual abuse.

Lawmakers in the state approved the law in 2021, and it was later challenged by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland. The diocese has received many lawsuits alleging long-ago abuse by priests.

Lawyers for the diocese told the Maine Supreme Judicial Court during arguments that they felt the removal of time limits was unconstitutional. An attorney representing plaintiffs defended the law as a way to prevent past abuses from being swept away.

The court, in a lengthy ruling, stated that once a statute of limitations has expired for a claim “a right to be free of that claim has vested, and the claim cannot be revived. That means the law ”is unconstitutional as applied to expired claims,” the court ruled. Two justices dissented.

It wasn’t immediately clear what would become of lawsuits filed against the diocese. Diocese elsewhere in the country have filed for bankruptcy due to the costs associated with lawsuits and settlements stemming from clergy abuse scandals.

Bishop James Ruggieri released a statement Tuesday that a “degree of uncertainty still remains and in the coming days, weeks, and months, in consultation with diocesan, parish, and lay advisors, I will prayerfully assess the path forward for the diocese.” He said he also wanted to “reach out to the victims and survivors to acknowledge the impact this past abuse has had on their lives.”