Arizona abuse victims can proceed with suits
PHOENIX – Arizona victims of longago child sex abuse can proceed with lawsuits against groups like the Boy Scouts of America after the state Supreme Court rejected claims that a state law extending victims’ right to sue was unconstitutional.
Arizona is among many states that have reacted to child sex abuse in recent years by allowing victims of even decades-old abuse to sue groups that didn’t protect them from predators. That has led to lawsuits against the Catholic Church, Scouts and others.
The high court rejected appeals by Big Brothers Big Sisters of America and its affiliates in central and southern Arizona of lower court rulings that found a 2019 law extending the statute of limitations was constitutional.
The rulings appear to be the first to directly address whether the Arizona law is legal, according to Phoenix attorney Robert Pastor, who represents victims in the two cases the high court considered. Those lawsuits allege that the group that connects youth called “Littles” with adult mentors known as “Bigs” did not properly oversee the Bigs. The cases involved two men who abused boys, one in 1983 and one in the 1970s, court filings show. The men are not defendants.
Child USA, a national group that pushes for so-called “revival” laws that allow old cases to be pursued in court, urged the high court to uphold the trial court rulings. It noted Arizona was among more than 30 states enacting legislation since 2002 allowing such lawsuits, most in recent years.
“A ruling against (the law’s) revival window would have negative ramifications for all the child sexual abuse survivors throughout Arizona who are embracing the window in pursuit of long overdue justice,” the group’s filing said.
Arizona’s high court considered appeals from decisions by two Maricopa County Superior Court judges who rejected Big Brothers Big Sisters’ arguments that the Legislature violated its due process rights by extending the statute of limitations.
The judges said in rulings issued last year that courts have long held that changing a statute of limitation for non-criminal claims is within the rights of legislatures.