As deadline looms, California's institutions face thousands of childhood sexual abuse claims

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 previously excluded.

"The cultural view of childhood sexual abuse now, as opposed to 2003, is night and day — it's very, very different," said Joelle Casteix, a spokesperson for the California chapter of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests. "We know that survivors in the church are far more likely to come forward."

Casteix said she typically receives about 20 messages a month from people seeking advice about a childhood sexual assault. Recently, she said, that number has been closer to 60 per week, suggesting that many people were still deciding about a lawsuit in the final days of the window.

The wave of litigation could have far-reaching financial and legal implications for organizations that work with children, particularly for groups that employed adults who were known to be abusers, experts said.

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Santa Rosa has already announced plans to seek bankruptcy protection. In a statement first reported by the Santa Rosa Press Democrat, Bishop Robert Vasa described bankruptcy as the "inevitable result of an insurmountable number of claims" — about 130, dating back to its founding in 1962.

Seeking bankruptcy protection often freezes most or all litigation and can limit the assets available for legal settlements. Victim advocates say the move also allows organizations such as the Catholic Church to postpone or avoid depositions and document discovery in lawsuits that might uncover past misdeeds.

The Boy Scouts of America sought bankruptcy protection in 2020 after several states allowed lawsuits over old claims of sexual abuse. And four Catholic dioceses sought Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after New York enacted a similar law in 2019.

"They use it as scandal avoidance," said Mike Reck, a Los Angeles attorney who handles childhood sexual assault lawsuits. "It freezes everything immediately."