Oregon Injury Lawyer Blog

A Supreme Court decision issued today allows an Oregon sexual abuse lawsuit against the Vatican to go forward, raising the possibility that the Catholic Church may have to defend itself in Oregon courts against allegations that it covered up repeated abuse by a priest.

The Oregon child abuse case, officially known as Holy See v John Doe, was brought by an alleged abuse victim. It turns on the actions of Father Andrew Ronan, an Irishman who the church moved from his native country to Chicago and later to Portland as abuse accusations followed him from place to place from the 1950s through the 1980s, according to Associated Press. Ronan died in 1992. The suit’s plaintiff is seeking damages from the church, as Ronan’s employer, for abuse he suffered as a teenager in 1965.

The Vatican, in turn, claims that as a sovereign state it is shielded from such liability under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act – a law that prevents individuals from suing foreign countries except in a few, relatively narrow, circumstances. On Monday the Supreme Court turned down the Vatican’s appeal, letting lower court rulings in favor of the plaintiff stand. Those earlier rulings held that the Vatican’s sovereign immunity was not absolute and that the church “could be sued in a U.S. court on certain grounds,” according to the Washington Post.

This important ruling strengthens the principal that abusers and those who facilitate their actions can be held to account in our courts. In reaffirming the right of Oregon abuse victims to sue for compensation for the violence and trauma they have suffered, the court sent a message that should resonate with any Oregonian injured by a powerful institution.

An Oregon personal injury lawyer can help clients explore the complexities and nuances of this ruling and advise on whether they open new opportunities for plaintiffs to seek justice – even for abuse that occurred a long time ago. In reaffirming the accountability of powerful institutions, the court has struck a blow for all Oregonians contemplating personal injury lawsuits.

Washington Post: Supreme Court to allow sex-abuse suit against Vatican to proceed

AP via The Oregonian: U.S. Supreme Court lets Vatican sex abuse lawsuit move forward on former Portland priest Andrew Ronan

Following up a story I blogged about earlier this month, the news broke late last week that an Oregon jury has awarded the victim $18.5 million in punitive damages in a high-profile Oregon child sexual abuse case involving the Boy Scouts, according to media reports. Earlier this month the Oregon jury awarded $1.4 million in compensatory damages for pain and suffering. The victim in this case, now 38, sued after determining that a scoutmaster had abused him in the 1980s.

As I’ve previously written, this case has attracted national attention. The New York Times noted that the case marked a rare instance in which the Boy Scouts’ confidential files on alleged sexual abuse and other inappropriate behavior by scout leaders were available to a jury. According to the Times: “Known variously as the “perversion files,” the “red flag files” and the “ineligible volunteer files,” the documents have been maintained for more than 70 years at the Scouts’ national office in Texas.” According to The Oregonian, the case marked only the second time that the records had been available to a jury.

Still to be decided by the judge is whether the files seen by the jury will now also be opened for public scrutiny. According to The Oregonian the Boy Scouts currently have about 2.8 million members, supervised by 1.1 million adult volunteers. The organization began running criminal background checks on volunteers in 2003, the paper reports. Numerous media reports have indicated that the precedent set by opening the Scouts’ files may unleash a flood of litigation nationwide.

This high profile case in our own community has been an ongoing reminder of the importance of having a Portland child sexual abuse attorney on your side. The tragedy of Oregon sexual abuse is never easy to deal with, but a Portland abuse lawyer can help you make your way through our complex and confusing legal system to obtain the justice you deserve.

The Oregonian: Portland jury awards $18.5 million in punitive damages in Boy Scout sexual abuse case

New York Times: $18.5 million in liability for Scouts in abuse case

A leading expert on child sexual abuse says a Portland court’s verdict holding the Boy Scouts liable for the Oregon child sexual abuse of one of their scouts in the 1980s has the potential to set loose a flood of litigation, similar to what the Catholic Church has experienced in recent years, according to a recent report in The Oregonian.

That analysis comes in the wake of a $1.4 million Oregon jury verdict against the Boy Scouts of America and their local affiliate, the Cascade Pacific Council. The victim, now 38, was molested by a scoutmaster in 1983 and 1984, according to a report in USA Today. In an interview with The Oregonian the victim said he had come forward after so many years because he only recently realized how seriously the mental trauma of the molestation had affected his later life. Changes to Oregon’s sexual abuse laws enacted last year have extended the period of time after an incident of abuse in which an alleged victim can bring suit.

A statement posted on the Boy Scouts of America’s website described the organization as both “gravely disappointed” in the verdict and “saddened by what happened to the plaintiff,” The Oregonian reported. The Scouts now face a second phase of the trial in which punitive damages will be considered. The victim is seeking $25 million.

At a moment when child abuse scandals involving the Catholic Church have been making headlines for weeks the timing of the verdict was, from the Scouts’ perspective, particularly unfortunate. Like many church cases, the Oregon child sexual abuse case turned on the question of whether the organization had sought to cover up cases of abuse in an effort to protect its reputation.

If you believe you were molested as a child, or have reason to believe your child has been the victim of a sexual predator, contacting a Portland child abuse lawyer is the key first step on the long road to justice. This most traumatic of crimes can be as difficult to prosecute as it is to confront. Let an experienced Oregon child injury attorney become your ally as you work to expose and punish those who have violated the trust of children and parents alike.

The Oregonian: Portland sex abuse verdict leaves Boy Scouts vulnerable to more lawsuits

USA Today: Boy Scouts found negligent in Oregon sex abuse

A 62-year-old Portland man is suing the Franciscan Friars of California for injuries he says he sustained as a child when a priest sexually abused him. In his Oregon sex abuse lawsuit, he is seeking $4 million in damages. The plaintiff claims Father Claude Riffe sexually abused him during the 60’s at the St. Francis Minor Seminary in Troutdale.

Clergy Sex Abuse
Clergy sex abuse by a number of priests and other members of the Catholic Church has been a problem for a long time. Fortunately, there are legal remedies available to victims—whether they are still children who were recently abused or adults who were the victims of sexual abuse when they were children.

In Oregon, sex abuse victims can sue their perpetrators for damages within six years of turning 18 or within 3 years of discovery that a specific injury was a result of the abuse. Sexual abuse can consist of:

• Rape
• Sodomy
• Molestation
• Sexual exploitation

The effects of sexual abuse can last a lifetime and may seriously impair the victim’s ability to lead a happy and productive life.

In the United States, the Roman Catholic Church has spent tens of millions of dollars to compensate the many victims who have come forward to report they were sexually abused by a priest or another clergy member. While some of these abusers have gone to jail, many of them remain free. The church has also come under fire for looking the other way on many occasions when parishioners have come forward to report an abuse incident. It is not uncommon to find out that a priest accused of abuse was conveniently transferred to another parish where he would proceed to abuse more victims.

If you or your son or daughter was sexually abused by a clergy member, a teacher, a counselor, a doctor, a family friend, a daycare center worker, a nursing home employee, or any other party, you may be entitled to file an Oregon sex abuse lawsuit against the perpetrator.

Oregon firm files abuse lawsuits against churches, Oregon Live, February 11, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Abuse in the Catholic Church, The Boston Globe

Sexual Abuse Effects, Child Abuse

In Oregon, A Marion County Circuit Court judge added $3 million in punitive damages to the $1.5 million jury awarded to a woman who filed a sex abuse lawsuit against her stepfather. The woman, now 24, says her stepfather began sexually abusing her when she was 11 or 12.

In her lawsuit, she accuses Edward Webb of sexually molesting her and touching her inappropriately, until she was about 14 years old. While Webb is not facing criminal charges for the alleged abuse because the statute of limitations for child abuse crimes had expired, she was able to sue her stepfather under a state law that allows adults to sue people that abused them when they were children.

Child Sex Abuse
Sexual abuse can cause serious physical and emotional injury to victims. Many children who are the victims of sex abuse are too scared to speak up or may repress the memories of the abuse for years. Regardless, the emotional scars from being sexually abused can last a lifetime.

A sexual abuse victim may suffer from depression, an eating disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, drug addiction, alcoholism, have problems with sexual intimacy, or find it hard to form intimate relationships. The financial and emotional tolls that these illnesses and issues can wreak on a person's life can be very high. In many cases, the abuser is someone the victim knows, such as a family member, a family friend, a priest, a teacher, a coach, a doctor, a counselor, a daycare supervisor, or another “trusted” adult.

If your son or daughter was the victim of child sexual abuse or you were sexually abused as a child, there are legal options available to you. Not only may you be able to hold the abuser liable in civil court by filing an Oregon sexual abuse lawsuit, but there may be other parties, such as a church, a school district, or another entity that can also be held liable for personal injury.

Woman Awarded $4.5 Million in Sex Abuse Case, The World Link, November 11, 2008

Woman Awarded $4.5 Million in Sex Abuse Case, NRToday.com, November 11, 2008

Related Web Resources:

Oregon Department of Human Services

Child Sexual Abuse, American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry

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