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The Maryland State House is shown in a file photo. (Kevin J. Parks/CR Staff)

Statute of limitations bill called ‘unconstitutional’ and ‘unfair’

March 10, 2023
By George P. Matysek Jr.
Catholic Review
Filed Under: Child & Youth Protection, Feature, Local News, Maryland Catholic Conference, Maryland General Assembly, News

Calling it “unconstitutional” and “unfair,” the Maryland Catholic Conference expressed its continued opposition to legislation approved March 10 by a State Senate committee that would treat private institutions such as the Catholic Church differently from public institutions in civil liabilities faced for child sexual abuse.

The “Child Victims Act,” which passed the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee on a 10-1 vote, would remove the civil statute of limitations for lawsuits and allow a “lookback window” for survivors to take legal action no matter when the abuse occurred.

Currently, the law in Maryland allows victims until age 38 to file such claims, an extension – from age 25 – that was supported by the church in 2017.

“The draconian provision of an unlimited window for currently time-barred civil cases to be filed, regardless of when they occurred, is nearly unprecedented among similar laws passed in other states,” the March 10 Maryland Catholic Conference statement said.

The legislation “creates blatant disparity in its treatment of victims, with much lower monetary judgements available to victims of abuse in public institutions than those of abuse in private settings,” the Catholic Conference said.

The legislation caps judgements for private institutions at $1.5 million, while capping judgements against public institutions at only $890,000.

In an interview with the Catholic Review, Sen. Chris West, a Republican who represents Baltimore and Carroll counties and was the only member of the Senate committee to vote against the bill, said the disparity is fundamentally unfair.

He gave the example of two hypothetical 11-year-old girls who each suffered identical abuse cases, one at a Catholic school and the other from a public school on the opposite side of the street.

“The idea that one child, now much older, could file a lawsuit against the Catholic Church for a million and a half dollars, and that the other girl, now also much older, could only file suit against the former city school system for $890,000 sounds to me to be unequal treatment, unfair treatment and unacceptable treatment,” West said.

West said he voted against the legislation because he also sees it as “clearly unconstitutional.” He noted that when lawmakers passed the 2017 law, they included a statute of repose that prevents lawsuits once the limitations period expired.

“Trying now to ignore the statute of repose and extend the statute of limitations back in time forever is a flagrant violation of the statute of repose and therefore unconstitutional,” West said.

He added that he is “absolutely convinced” that the Maryland Supreme Court will rule the legislation unconstitutional.

The Maryland Catholic Conference said even with the lower damage cap for public entities, the proposed law will “carry an immense financial burden for Maryland families, including those already struggling financially and who rely on the state and others for support.

“The attorney for the Maryland Association of Boards of Education has testified that the legislation could lead to the filing of as many as 3,000 lawsuits at a cost to taxpayers of $2.5 billion,” the conference said.

The legislative advocacy group for Maryland’s Catholic bishops pointed out that the Catholic Church in Maryland has provided millions of dollars in therapeutic counseling and direct financial payments to victim-survivors “and believes this legislation, if passed, will be found unconstitutional and provides false hope to victims who have already suffered far too much.”

The legislation will now move to the full Senate for a vote.

Email George Matysek at gmatysek@CatholicReview.org

Also see

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More than 1,000 stand up for life at Maryland March for Life

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Bills that run contrary to Catholic values introduced at Maryland General Assembly

Gov. Moore’s budget cuts BOOST, proposes phase-out of scholarship program

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George P. Matysek Jr.

George Matysek, a member of the Catholic Review staff since 1997, has served as managing editor since September 2021. He previously served as a writer, senior correspondent, assistant managing editor and digital editor of the Catholic Review and the Archdiocese of Baltimore.

In his current role, he oversees news coverage of the Archdiocese of Baltimore and is a host of Catholic Review Radio.

George has won more than 100 national and regional journalism and broadcasting awards from the Maryland-Delaware-DC Press Association, the Catholic Press Association, the Associated Church Press and National Right to Life. He has reported from Guyana, Guatemala, Italy, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland.

A native Baltimorean, George is a proud graduate of Our Lady of Mount Carmel High School in Essex. He holds a bachelor's degree from Loyola University Maryland in Baltimore and a master's degree from UMBC.

George, his wife and five children live in Rodgers Forge. He is a parishioner of the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen in Homeland.

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