ALBANY (NY)
The Daily Gazette
June 15, 2020
By John Cropley
Some allegations date back 60 years; local law firm preparing additional lawsuits
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany was the target Monday of 52 new lawsuits alleging sex abuse of children by priests and nuns as much as 63 years ago.
The Guilderland and Minnesota law firms teaming up to represent the victims in these cases have previously filed 22 such lawsuits and say they are preparing 36 more.
Other law firms are separately bringing similar cases.
The state Legislature last year opened a one-year window for sex abuse victims to sue for incidents alleged to have happened far beyond the normal statute of limitations for such litigation.
The COVID-19 crisis put New York’s court system in virtual hibernation this spring, raising the potential that some claims would be shut out, but Gov. Andrew Cuomo extended the window five months before the Legislature extended it by a year.
The blackout was briefly worrisome to the survivors, said Cynthia LaFave, whose Guilderland law firm LaFave, Wein & Frament is filing the lawsuits with Jeff Anderson & Associates of St. Paul, Minnesota.
“I think it was another trauma on people who had suffered a great deal of trauma, to [potentially] have justice denied again,” LaFave said. “But they handled it with immense grace.”
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