Abuse Damages Bill Threatens Church, Other Nonprofits

By Valerie Schmalz
Catholic San Francisco
June 5, 2013

http://www.catholic-sf.org/ns.php?newsid=29&id=61509

The California state Senate narrowly approved a waiver of the statute of limitations for child sex abuse damage lawsuits – a bill that could have a devastating effect on nonprofits including Catholic Charities and Catholic schools while exempting public employers.

The legislation, SB 131, would force private schools to defend claims that may be 40 years old but forbid victims from suing any public school for abuse that may have occurred before 2009, the California Council of Nonprofit Organizations said.

“To add insult to injury, SB 131 even protects the actual abuser from being sued – the only claims that are revived are against private employers and nonprofit organizations,” said Ned Dolejsi, executive director of the California Catholic Conference.

Private employers including nonprofits would be eligible to be sued for sex abuse claims going as far back as 40 years, while all public entities as well as convicted perpetrators for whom the statute of limitations has expired would be exempt from civil lawsuits, he said.

“It could have a serious impact on the funding or the operations of many dioceses,” Dolejsi said.

Bill co-sponsor Sen. Jim Beall, D-San Jose, said at an April press conference that current law “does not allow ample time for these victims to realize the mental and physical damage the abuse has caused, which prevents them from getting an opportunity at obtaining justice.”

But in a May 28 letter to senators, nonprofit council lobbyist John Norwood said, “The most telling thing about SB 131 is the fact that although the sponsors claim that this is a bill ‘for victims,’ the bill callously disregards any victim who may have been abused in a public school, or by some other government employee.”

Norwood said the bill “discriminates against more victims than it helps and is narrowly tailored to serve the interest of a few trial lawyers.”

The bill is “not fair to the victims,” said George Wesolek, director of communications and public policy for the Archdiocese of San Francisco. “What happens to the victims in the public schools?”

If passed by both houses, the bill would go to Gov. Jerry Brown for his signature.

Bay Area Democratic lawmakers split on the legislation in voting May 30, with San Francisco Sen. Leland Yee voting absent while San Mateo Sen. Jerry Hill voted for the bill. Under legislative rules, it passed by one vote – 21-10 with eight abstentions in the 40-member chamber—under pressure from Speaker Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, Dolejsi said. In addition to Yee, six other Democrats and one Republican abstained. Nine Republicans and one Democrat voted no.

The bill would allow almost any lawsuit no matter when the alleged abuse occurred, according to opponents. It would also lower the standard of evidence for damages and extend the time allowed for filing so that other than having turned 26 before 2003, the only prerequisite for filing a claim would be that the plaintiff “discovered the cause of his or her injuries” after Jan. 1, 2004, the state nonprofit council told senators.

In 2003, the state of California created a one-year window that waived the statute of limitations, leading to massive settlements with victims by Catholic dioceses who encouraged anyone who might have been harmed to come forward for what it believed was a one-time event. Since then, most nonprofits and the Catholic dioceses and their charities self-insure so any awards would require selling additional assets, including property, and might require shutting down agencies, officials said.

Organizations opposed include the California Police Activities League, California State Alliance of YMCAs, California Association of Private School Associations, California Association of Joint Power Authorities, Pacific Union Conference of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.