|
N.J. Stat. Ann.
§ 2A:61B-1 |
Summary of Current Law:
New Jersey's
Child
Sexual Abuse Act (CSAA), enacted in 1992, §2A:61B-1(b), provides that actions can be
commenced within two years of the date of the "reasonable discovery" of the
"injury and its causal relationship to the act of sexual abuse." See, e.g. See, e.g. J.L.
v J.F., 722 A.2d 558, 317 N.J. Super. 418 (1999), a case that did not
involve repressed memory. The Appellate Division of the Superior Court stressed that the
under the statute, reasonable discovery occurred when the victim discovered the abuse and
the connection to her injuries. The Court also ruled that the victim was entitled to
a plenary hearing on the issue of whether she was entitled to toll the statute of
limitations based upon her mental incapacity under § 2A:61B-1(c). See
also Jones v. Jones, 242 N.J. Super. 195, 576 A.2d 316; cert. denied
122 N.J. 418, 585 A.2d 412 (1990) (applying disability tolling provision to repressed
memory due to child sexual abuse).
In 2006 by the state legislature amended the New Jersey Charitable
Immunity Act, N.J.S.A. 2A:53A-7 et seq. removing the shield of immunity
for employees and officers of charitable institutions in cases of
"willful, wanton or grossly negligent act of commission or omission,
including sexual assault and other crimes of a sexual nature." This
means that victims can recover against institutions for negligent hiring
and supervision of employees.
In 2006 the New Jersey Supreme Court held that a residential school
stood in "loco parentis" to its students and thus was responsible for
the sexual abuse inflicted by a faculty member.
The
court stated that New Jersey's Child Sexual Abuse Act (CSAA) recognized
the vulnerability of children and demonstrated a legislative intent to
protect them from victimization, and CSAA imposed responsibility on
those in the best position to know of the abuse and stop it.
Hardwicke v.
American Boychoir School, 188 N.J. 69,
(2006).
Link to New
Jersey Statutes
Link to Article:
Child sexual abuse: A plaintiff's perspective
By Lawrence Z. Kotler and Scott A. Heiart (discusses Child Sexual Abuse
Act, Charitable immunity and significant cases) |
