12-02-2025
Group suing Maine's Catholic Church asks high court to reconsider statute of limitations ruling
Feb. 11—A group of people suing Maine's Catholic Church has asked the state's highest court to reconsider a ruling that bars them from bringing decades-old claims of childhood sexual abuse.
The Maine Supreme Judicial Court last month shot down a 2021 law that let survivors file any lawsuits alleging child sexual abuse, even if their claims had expired under previous statute of limitations.
The majority opinion had little to do with the allegations at the heart of the cases and was instead a hardline stance against the Legislature's effort to revive time-barred claims.
After state lawmakers agreed let anyone sue in civil court for childhood sexual abuse, dozens of claims targeted the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland, alleging its leaders knew about the abuse and failed to prevent it or warn parishioners about allegations. The diocese challenged the law a year later.
Some of the allegations dated as far back as the 1950s, and involved priests and other church employees who were already found to be credibly accused. Most have died.
Lawyers for the plaintiffs said Tuesday that the justices didn't fully analyze the question they were asked to consider and are asking the court to revisit the case.
"The Majority in Dupuis concluded that the right to be free from expired claims is a vested right arising from and protected by Maine's Constitution. Appellees do not dispute that issue here," attorneys wrote. "But whether and how much any right may be impaired must be determined by applying a due process analysis under the Maine Constitution."
A spokesperson for attorneys Michael Bigos and Timothy Kenlan said they are declining to comment "out of respect for the Law Court."
An attorney and a spokesperson for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland did not immediately respond to emails Tuesday evening.
The diocese has previously claimed it had a "vested right" in the protections it enjoyed under Maine's previous statute of limitations. Without those protections, the diocese is open to potentially millions in damages.
And it's not just the diocese. In the last three years, previously expired claims have been filed against the YMCA of Bangor, the Special Olympics, Camp Kieve and a counselor from the 1970s.
This story will be updated.
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