A judge in New Jersey recently reaffirmed the state’s new Child Victim’s Act – which extended the statute of limitations on future sexual abuse lawsuits and temporarily suspended it for previous cases – by refusing to dismiss a civil case against the Delbarton School in Morristown last month.

Morris County Superior Court Judge Paul Bogaard rejected the school’s efforts to have the case thrown out during oral arguments on Friday, May 22, according to a report by the online news publication North Jersey. By denying the school’s motions to find the new law unconstitutional, the judge has effectively cleared the way for all similar cases against the Catholic Church and other organizations and individuals in state courts.

Changes in the Law

Previously, victims of sexual abuse in New Jersey had only two years from the time they realized any damage from the abuse to file a civil lawsuit against their alleged abusers, and child victims only had until the age of 20 to do so. Under the new law, which took effect in December 2019, victims now have until the age of 55, or seven years from the time the abuse is realized to have done harm, whichever comes later.

What’s more, the new law created “a two-year ‘revival’ period for individuals to assert civil claims of child abuse and to file claims against institutions and individuals, even if those claims had already expired and/or were dismissed because they were filed late,” the National Law Review reported on its legal news website in January.

Delbarton School Case

The lawsuit against Delbarton School, a Benedictine Catholic school for boys in grades 7 through 12, was filed more than two years before New Jersey enacted the Child Victims Act. It was brought by a former student who says he was abused by a priest at Delbarton School when he was 15, according to North Jersey. The alleged victim is now 60.

Lawyers representing St. Mary’s Abbey and the Order of St. Benedict, which operates the school, argued the act’s temporary suspension of the statute of limitations on sex abuse claims is unconstitutional and the case against the school should be tossed out. Judge Bogaard disagreed.

North Jersey quoted the plaintiff’s attorney as calling Judge Bogaard’s decision “a huge victory for New Jersey survivors.”

The victim advocacy group Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests, or SNAP, also issued a statement lauding the decision in the Delbarton School case.

“This story is a reminder of the challenges faced by survivors as they come forward and seek justice,” the group said on its website. “By allowing these cases to be heard, children and communities are safer as abusers are made public and institutions held responsible.”

Other Cases

As many as 10 other lawsuits against the Delbarton School have been settled out of court in recent years, according to North Jersey. “Those suits alleged that monks … abused students at Delbarton and another school … at St. Elizabeth of Hungary parish in Linden,” the report reads.

North Jersey also reported that “two years ago, St. Mary’s sent a letter to alumni and others affiliated with the Delbarton School revealing that 13 of the abbey’s monks had been accused of sexually abusing 30 people over the past three decades.”

In reporting on New Jersey’s Child Victims Act, the National Law Review’s online news website reported 46 new sexual abuse lawsuits were filed “in the first minute” the new rules took effect “with hundreds more geared up for filing in the upcoming weeks and months.”

This article is not legal advice. It is presented
for informational purposes only.