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	Third Circuit Throws out Church Sex-Abuse Suit ABC November 8, 2007 http://www.philly.com/inquirer/local/philadelphia/20071108_Two_ die_in_motorcycle_crash_in_Falls_Township_1.html A civil racketeering lawsuit filed by 14 alleged victims of priest sexual abuse in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia has been thrown out by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. The court on Tuesday upheld U.S. District Judge Legrome Davis' 2006 ruling that said the plaintiffs had not asserted any injuries to their business or property, as the racketeering statute requires. The alleged victims argue that the archdiocese routinely concealed child abuse in violation of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. Around the country, nearly all attempts to get around legal time limits by accusing church institutions of racketeering have failed. The Third Circuit court also ruled that the alleged victims could not sue as a protected class because minors are not recognized as such under the 14th Amendment's equal-protection clause.
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