Albany, N.Y., Jun 6, 2018 / 16:02 pm
Backers of a New York bill to open a lawsuit window for civil action from victims of past sexual abuse are wrong to say it would apply to public institutions, a former judge has said.
In a May 21 legal analysis of the proposed Child Victims Act, Judge Susan Phillips Read, former associate judge of the New York State Court of Appeals, said that if it becomes law, "a 34-year old man whose high school wrestling coach sexually abused him 20 years ago would not be time-barred from recovering damages from his high school if the man attended a private school and sued within the one-year window, but he would be precluded from recovering damages if he attended a public school instead of a private school."
Read wrote the analysis at the request of Richard Barnes, executive director of the New York State Catholic Conference, which opposes the bill in its current form.
"While the sponsors have professed that their bill does not shield public schools from exposure, Judge Read's comprehensive analysis clearly shows otherwise," Barnes said June 5, charging that the bill has a double standard which would "create a pernicious further injustice."