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	Sex Abuse Cases Get Go-Ahead Repressed Memory Is at the Center of Lawsuits against Catholic Priests By Joe Lambe The Kansas City Star [Missouri] June 14, 2006 http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/14811480.htm At least some lawsuits involving repressed memory of sexual abuse from many years ago can proceed, the Missouri Supreme Court ruled Tuesday. Statutes of limitations do not date from the act itself but from when victims realized the damage they suffered, the court said while ruling 6-1 in a St. Louis case involving allegations against clergy at a Catholic school. Some lower courts had approved such cases, and others had not. For months, state judges held action on such cases — including about 20 lawsuits in Jackson County against at least seven Catholic priests — to wait for the ruling. "Cases will start moving forward now," said Jackson County Judge John O'Malley. In Kansas City and St. Louis, lawyers for plaintiffs and priests praised the court for ending confusion and setting a standard. So did advocates. "We're convinced this will enable more victims to expose more predators and protect more kids," said David Clohessy, national director of the St. Louis-based Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests. "Essentially the judges are saying, 'Let the jury decide whether a kid is capable of knowing he or she was hurt.' For years an arbitrary rigid time limit denied child sex victims any justice. And now that's no longer true." The court overruled a St. Louis judge who had dismissed the case of Michael Powel, 47, who contends two clergy members abused him at a Catholic school in the 1970s, when he was 15 to 17 years old. Powel sued in 2002 after he had brain surgery that he said made him remember the abuse. Missouri law in place when Powel sued required lawsuits to be filed within five years of when the damage from a wrongdoing "is sustained and capable of ascertainment." For victims who are minors, that clock did not start ticking until they turned 21. The St. Louis judge ruled that the statute of limitations ended when Powel turned 26, but the ruling Tuesday said the statute did not start running until Powel was capable of realizing his damage. Powel contends that he suppressed the abuse until after his brain surgery at about age 40. But facts on that are scant and in dispute, the court majority found. It sent the case back to the lower court to determine facts and use the new standard to decide whether to again dismiss the case. Chief Justice Michael Wolff wrote in a concurring opinion that he doubted Powel's claim could survive dismissal. But Wolff said that would not be true in all cases. "There is an obvious difference in the ability of a 5-year-old to ascertain damages and a 15-year-old," Wolff wrote. In a dissent, Judge William Ray Price wrote that Powel has the burden of proving he did not realize he was abused and damaged when he was a teenager. Sending the case back was a waste of time, he said. "The evidence is stale, witnesses are lost," Price wrote. "Any remedial value is too little, too late." Clohessy said the ruling could help from 15 to 30 clergy sex abuse victims in the St. Louis area. Jim Wyrsch, who defends two priests in Jackson County lawsuits, said the ruling set clear guidelines and is favorable overall to the defense. Alleged victims in his cases ranged from ages 12 to 18, he said. Rebecca Randles, the attorney for plaintiffs in about 20 cases against six priests, said the ruling was good for her clients, whose ages as victims ranged from 6 to 17. Age is not the only issue, she said, and juries will get to make the call in uncertain cases. Cases held off dockets in uncertainty will now go to judges and juries, she said. The ruling does not apply to criminal cases, lawyers said. The Associated Press contributed to this report. To reach Joe Lambe, call (816) 234-4314 or send e-mail to jlambe@kcstar.com.
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