Judge Prohibits Alleged Abuse Victims From Refiling Lawsuits

A judge threw out two sexual abuse claims against the Roman Catholic Church on Friday, finding that anyone who had previously sued the church and lost was not entitled to another day in court.

Alameda County Superior Court Judge Ronald M. Sabraw ruled unconstitutional the portion of state law allowing those childhood sexual abuse claims to be reopened. He found that lawmakers did not have the authority to revive a final judgment of the court.

In his 35-page order, Sabraw became one of the first judges in California to interpret the provisions of the 2002 law that opened the door to more than 800 sex abuse claims against the Roman Catholic Church in California.

The ruling, while not binding on the Southern California cases, could prove instructive to judges facing similar issues.

More than a dozen people have sued the Catholic Church since the 1990s and had their claims thrown out of court because they were too old. Sabraw said those people are not entitled to refile even though the new law says they can.

In his order, the judge also upheld the law’s overall constitutionality and rejected the church’s argument that suits based on the negligent hiring, supervision and retention of predatory priests violates religious freedoms.

Sabraw said the claims “do not foster an excessive governmental entanglement with religion.” They do not violate the 1st Amendment because they apply to “administrative procedures, but not religious practices, of religious organizations,” he said.