Board of Education of Harford County v. Doe
The Maryland Supreme Court will resolve whether a 2023 law that repealed a time bar on victims of child abuse suing institutions alleged to have harbored their abusers violates those institutions’ due process rights or amounts to a taking under the state constitution.
The state high court agreed to decide the question directly at the request of a federal district court. Schools and the archdiocese, which have been sued under the new law, argue that the previous bar — under which victims could not sue once they reached 38 years old — created a substantive right to be free from liability thereafter. That right cannot be abrogated retroactively, even “to remedy a historical wrong,” they assert.
The victim plaintiffs counter that the prior law did not create such a right. Rather, they say, it was a typical statute of limitations that provided only a qualified defense. Challenges to similar laws in other states have had mixed results.
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State Court Oral Arguments to Watch for in September
Issues on the dockets include climate change, redistricting, and lawsuits by victims of child sexual abuse.