The lawsuits are stacking up in courthouses across the state, sometimes dozens per day, identifiable by their unusual names: Jane Doe vs. Doe Archdiocese. M.L., an individual, vs. Doe 1, a California organization. John Doe #1 vs. Roe 2, a California entity.
In the waning days of a three-year window that gave adults more time to file lawsuits over childhood sexual abuse, California is seeing a flood of new litigation.
Spurred by a 2020 change in state law, thousands of lawsuits alleging abuse as far back as the 1940s have been filed against dozens of organizations, including religious groups, private and public schools, sports groups and nonprofit organizations. In some cases, the alleged perpetrators have been dead for decades.
The number of lawsuits is expected to rise sharply before the Dec. 31 filing deadline. After that, people older than 40 will once again be barred from suing over abuse suffered in California as children.
The volume of cases filed during this three-year period is expected to eclipse filings from 2003, when California became the first U.S. state to temporarily lift statutes of limitations for childhood sex abuse in the wake of the Catholic Church scandal. An estimated 850 clergy abuse victims and 150 others sued churches, the Boy Scouts and other institutions.
This time, more than 2,000 lawsuits have been filed against the Catholic Church alone, attorneys said. Plaintiffs are also seeking damages from public entities such as schools, which were...
BRENTWOOD, Tenn. (WSMV) - A Tennessee doctor has pleaded guilty to committing millions of dollars’ worth of Medicare fraud through her Brentwood optometry practice. Helen Boerman, 48, pleaded guilt...