KBA Files Suit against Cardinal Theodore McCarrick in New Jersey

Cardinal Theodore McCarrick abused boys for decades

KBA continues its fight for survivors of Catholic Church sex abuse. After filing a Catholic Church sex abuse lawsuit in Erie County Pennsylvania, KBA Partner, Derek Braslow, filed suit in New Jersey last week for another survivor of sex assault associated with the catholic church.

Catholic clergy members engaged in horrible sexual abuse involving children. The Church often covered-up the abuse. A particularly horrific offender is Cardinal McCarrick, who the Church, to its credit, defrocked. As the New York Times reported, he is the highest-ranking U.S. Catholic official the Church has “removed for sexual abuse of a minor.”

Several people accused McCarrick of abuse. Claims arose recently concerning sex abuse. Three weeks ago, a survivor alleged he had been groomed for a role in what they called a “sex ring”

KBA’s client now joins other survivors in bringing justice for those Cardinal McCarrick preyed upon. KBA’s client walked away from the Catholic Church nearly 40 years ago after McCarrick groped him before Mass while he was an altar boy. He sued the Diocese of Metuchen and Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, among others.

“McCarrick has been repeatedly accused of sexual abuse in other court filings as well, under a new law that gives people more time to sue their alleged abusers and the institutions that protected them.” Allegations involving the former Cardinal include claims the Pope was informed of the abuse by a survivor and that McCarrick made substantial donations to high power officials. The recipients were among a group of Catholics that investigated sex abuse charges.

KBA filed suit against the Catholic Diocese of Metuchen in Middlesex County New Jersey for McCarrick’s abuse

KBA’s complaint – the document that starts a lawsuit – alleges McCarrick sexually assaulted several minor boys from the 1970s through the 1990s. The complaint alleges Defendant Diocese of Metuchen knew about McCarrick’s abuse. For example, it knew he slept with seminarians from his arrival in 1981. A witness noted that “[i]t has been widely known for several decades that Bishop/Archbishop now Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick took seminarians and young priests to a shore home in New Jersey, sites in New York, and other places and slept with some of them.”

KBA’s lawsuit invokes New Jersey’s new law regarding the statute of limitations   

Injured parties must file lawsuits within a specific amount of time. Each state has laws called, statutes of limitations, that dictate how much time one has from the date of injury until they must file a lawsuit. It varies from one to as many as six years across the U.S. It is two years in New Jersey. under the old law, McCarrick would have gotten away with his conduct against minors who were unable to bring suit within two years.

Because of the widespread abuse of minors by members of the Catholic Church, states have changed these laws. Recently, New Jersey passed Bills S477 and A3648, which became effective December 1, 2019. The resulting new law extended the statute of limitations in civil actions for sexual abuse claims. The law creates a two (2) year window for bringing previously time-barred actions. The new law also expands the categories of potential defendants in civil actions. Finally, it permits retroactive application of standards of liability to past acts of abuse for which liability did not exist previously.

KBA is litigating against the Catholic Church around the country 

KBA attorneys practice in Florida, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Washington, DC. We partner with attorneys in California, New York, North Carolina, and most states around the country. KBA fights against the Catholic Church and other organizations for survivors and are here to help.