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	Navajo Supreme Court Reverses Decision in Clergy Sex Abuse Case [9:30 A.m.] Daily Times September 12, 2011 http://www.daily-times.com/ci_18876983 The Navajo Nation Supreme Court issued a decision last week in a case in which a Navajo member filed a personal injury action against a Catholic priest and diocese alleging that the priest had sexually abused him 20 ago when he was a teenager. The case was filed long after the two-year time limit for filing personal injury actions. However, Navajo Nation Code permits the court to accept late filings in such actions if the plaintiff can show he was not able to discover sooner the nature and cause of the injury, or the identity of the person who committed the injury. The plaintiff stated that he was unable to know the nature of the injury or make the connection between the abuse and the injury for many years. The district court dismissed the case because it found that the statutory conditions that would allow the court to accept a late filing were not met. The individual appealed the dismissal. The Supreme Court reversed the dismissal after determining that the district court required argument and witnesses at a status conference and furthermore applied the wrong standard and procedure in reaching a decision on a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim. The Court also stated that the courts have a duty to protect the health and welfare of the people, "to ensure allegations of harm to our children are fully heard and not dismissed on mere technicalities." The case has been remanded for further proceedings.
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