NEW ORLEANS– The Louisiana Supreme Court agreed Friday to reconsider its recent ruling that overturned a state law that gave adult victims of childhood sexual abuse a new chance to file compensation lawsuits.
The law was passed by the Louisiana Legislature in 2021 and amended in 2022. Dubbed a “lookback law,” the law gave victims of past abuse whose deadlines for filing civil lawsuits had passed until June 14 of this year — a deadline that could be extended under pending legislation. be extended until June 2027. At the time, the lead sponsor, Rep. Jason Hughes, a New Orleans Democrat, cited research showing that the average age for child abuse victims to report the crimes is 52.
In a 4-3 ruling in March, the state’s highest court had said the law violated the right to due process in the state constitution. Justices James Genovese, Scott Crichton, Jefferson Hughes and Piper Griffin were in the majority in March. But on Friday’s order, Crichton and Griffin joined Chief Justice John Weimer and Justices Jay McCallum and William Crain in granting a rehearing.
“This was the right decision – as the bill passed the state Legislature unanimously and should be the law here in Louisiana,” Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill said in a news release.
Friday’s decision comes as the Catholic Church continues to deal with the fallout from a decades-old sex scandal. The ruling, now under review, stemmed from a case brought against the Catholic Diocese of Lafayette by plaintiffs who said they were abused by a priest in the 1970s while they ranged in age from 8 to 14, according to the Supreme Court report.
The decision to rehearse follows last week’s revelation that Louisiana State Police executed a massive search warrant at the Archdiocese of New Orleans in April, seeking records and communications between local church leaders and the Vatican about the church’s handling of sexual abuse by clergy.
Friday’s order did not set a new court date for arguments on the lookback law, but gave parties until May 20 to file briefs. The new majority gave no reasons for allowing a rehearing, although Weimer said the court should have held a hearing this month.
Hughes criticized the decision in a brief dissent, saying civilizations have been placing time limits on legal claims for centuries.
“Special interest exceptions are anathema to the broader and more important concept of justice,” he wrote. “Equal protection means equal.”