BishopAccountability.org
	Delaware Child Victim's Act Upheld By Sean O'Sullivan News Journal February 23, 2011 http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20110223/NEWS01/102230329/Delaware-Child-Victim-s-Act-upheld [court decision] The Delaware Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld as constitutional the 2007 Delaware Child Victim's Act - which opened the door for dozens of sex abuse lawsuits. The ruling came in the case of James Sheehan v. Oblates of St. Francis de Sales and Salesianum School, where the high court also revived Sheehan's claims against the religious order and the school, ruling the trial judge made a mistake in excluding some expert testimony about the effects of childhood sexual abuse. "This is a tremendous victory for survivors of abuse everywhere," said Sheehan attorney Stephen J. Neuberger. "It upholds the wisdom of what the General Assembly did four years ago." He noted that other states, such as Pennsylvania, are considering adopting laws similar to Delaware's Child Victim's Act, so this ruling could have national implications. The Oblates' attorney, Mark Reardon, said the case was one of first impression and raised a number of unique and complex issues, "and now we have guidance from the Supreme Court." He said the ruling "will help all of us in working to resolve the rest of these cases." In a statement, the Oblates said their dedication to help all victims of abuse will continue. David Clohessy, director of the St. Louis-based Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, praised the ruling. "We're grateful that Delaware's Supreme Court understands that we must make it easier, not harder, for child sex abuse victims to expose predators and protect kids," he said. Attorneys for Salesianum argued in December that the act was unconstitutional because it lifted the statute of limitations for two years to allow victims of childhood sexual abuse to file civil lawsuits seeking damages for acts that took place more than 40 years ago. Tuesday's unanimous ruling -- from four state Supreme Court justices along with Vice Chancellor John W. Noble, who sat in on arguments -- determined the act violates neither state nor federal due process laws. The court wrote that the Delaware General Assembly has the power to set statutes of limitations and to change them, echoing what legal experts had said before the ruling was handed down. In the 24-page decision, the court stated that as a matter of constitutional law, "statutes of limitations go to matters of remedy, not destruction of fundamental rights." "We do not sit as an uber-legislature to eviscerate proper legislative enactments," wrote Chief Justice Myron T. Steele for the court. As to the claim that it was unfair for the Oblates to defend against a lawsuit involving acts that occurred more than four decades ago, the court said attorneys failed to show what specific harm was caused by the passing of time. The plaintiff in the case, James Sheehan, essentially lost in Superior Court in 2009, with the jury finding the Oblates were liable under the Child Victim's Act but that the order's actions were not the proximate cause of harm to Sheehan. At the time, jurors said they found Sheehan's testimony about being molested to be credible but felt "the law" did not allow them to make an award in his favor. In their Monday statement the Oblates said: "Until Mr. Sheehan came forward four years ago, the Oblates had no information that Fr. Norris, now dead 25 years, was an alleged abuser. The records at trial showed Fr. Norris was alcoholic, depressed and diabetic. We are concerned that the Supreme Court's decision seemed to be based on inferences and assumptions that are not stated in any of the few available records." The Delaware Supreme Court found that the trial judge, Calvin L. Scott Jr., erred when he prohibited a plaintiff's expert from testifying about the general effects of childhood sexual abuse. The court ruled this was "vitally relevant" evidence, and barring it undermined Sheehan's case and denied him a fair trial. This means a new jury will now rehear the case in Superior Court, this time with the plaintiff's expert allowed to testify. Tuesday's ruling comes several weeks after the Roman Catholic Diocese of Wilmington reached a $77.4 million settlement with more than 150 survivors of childhood sexual abuse. Some 40 lawsuits alleging sexual abuse by priests belonging to four religious orders that operate schools in Delaware were not part of the settlement and remain pending in state courts. Contact Sean O'Sullivan at 324-2777 or sosullivan@delawareonline.com.
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.