Legislature opens door to expanded legal action against organizations that harbored child sex abusers
The
Green and Gillispie law firm in Little Rock, which has handled
child sexual abuse claims against clergy, Boy Scout leaders and others, has scheduled a news conference Thursday to talk about a new Arkansas law that makes it easier to sue for damages for such abuse.
SB 676 (now Act 1036) increases from 21 to 55 the age at which victims — either minors or the disabled — may file a claim and also creates a two-year period in which anyone of any age who was abused can bring a lawsuit against the abuser or an organization whose negligence facilitated the abuse. The organizations are typically the deep pockets from which damage claims are paid.