By Zach Gorchow
Gongwer News Service
A women who brought sexual abuse claims against several Christian Reformed Church organizations for crimes she said occurred starting when she was 3 years old can bring her lawsuit, the Court of Appeals ruled in a case involving the statute of limitations on how long such cases can remain viable.
The court, in a potentially significant ruling, held a 2018 Michigan law providing people under 18 who were sexually abused with the ability to bring litigation until they turned 28 applies to any claims that were active when the statute was enacted in 2018.
The plaintiff, who is not named in the case, alleges that when she was 3 years old, in 2006, a deacon at the Grace Christian Reformed Church sexually abused her while attending church services. She further alleges that from late 2006 to early 2007, when she was 4 years old, an older child sexually abused her while on a mission trip sponsored by the Christian Reformed Church in North America to Guinea. The plaintiff says church leadership was aware of child sexual abuse in the church and did nothing to prevent it.
At the time, Michigan law provided until the girl turned 19 to file suit.
However, when the girl turned 15 in 2018, Michigan enacted a new law extending the statute of limitations for persons who were victims of criminal sexual conduct while a minor until that person turned 28.
The plaintiff said her memories of the abuse were suppressed until 2020 when she was 17. She filed suit in 2024 at the age of 21.
The church organizations moved for dismissal of the case, arguing the statute of limitations expired either three years after the actual abuse or when she turned 19. The church groups also contended the 2018 Michigan law did not apply to claims arising from abuse before the statute was enacted.
The Kent Circuit Court sided with the church organizations and ordered the case dismissed.
But a unanimous Court of Appeals, in a published case, MI v. Grace Christian Reformed Church of Grand Rapids (COA Docket No. 373022), reversed the Kent Circuit Court and held the woman can bring her claims.
The 2018 law simply extended the statute of limitations period to past conduct while the claim was still viable, Judge Andrew Lievense wrote in the opinion. The defendants had no right to a statute of limitations defense on active claims when the statute extending the right to sue until the age of 28 was enacted.
“Defendants’ rights are not impaired because plaintiff’s claims were active in 2018 when Subsection (1)(a) was enacted, which was three years before defendants had any potential right to invoke a statute of limitations defense because plaintiff was just 15 years old in 2018,” he wrote. “We are unpersuaded that the statute’s purpose – to broaden child sexual abuse victims’ access to civil remedies – was to be reserved for acts occurring after the statute’s effective date or for acts of abuse not yet committed.”
Gongwer News Service
A women who brought sexual abuse claims against several Christian Reformed Church organizations for crimes she said occurred starting when she was 3 years old can bring her lawsuit, the Court of Appeals ruled in a case involving the statute of limitations on how long such cases can remain viable.
The court, in a potentially significant ruling, held a 2018 Michigan law providing people under 18 who were sexually abused with the ability to bring litigation until they turned 28 applies to any claims that were active when the statute was enacted in 2018.
The plaintiff, who is not named in the case, alleges that when she was 3 years old, in 2006, a deacon at the Grace Christian Reformed Church sexually abused her while attending church services. She further alleges that from late 2006 to early 2007, when she was 4 years old, an older child sexually abused her while on a mission trip sponsored by the Christian Reformed Church in North America to Guinea. The plaintiff says church leadership was aware of child sexual abuse in the church and did nothing to prevent it.
At the time, Michigan law provided until the girl turned 19 to file suit.
However, when the girl turned 15 in 2018, Michigan enacted a new law extending the statute of limitations for persons who were victims of criminal sexual conduct while a minor until that person turned 28.
The plaintiff said her memories of the abuse were suppressed until 2020 when she was 17. She filed suit in 2024 at the age of 21.
The church organizations moved for dismissal of the case, arguing the statute of limitations expired either three years after the actual abuse or when she turned 19. The church groups also contended the 2018 Michigan law did not apply to claims arising from abuse before the statute was enacted.
The Kent Circuit Court sided with the church organizations and ordered the case dismissed.
But a unanimous Court of Appeals, in a published case, MI v. Grace Christian Reformed Church of Grand Rapids (COA Docket No. 373022), reversed the Kent Circuit Court and held the woman can bring her claims.
The 2018 law simply extended the statute of limitations period to past conduct while the claim was still viable, Judge Andrew Lievense wrote in the opinion. The defendants had no right to a statute of limitations defense on active claims when the statute extending the right to sue until the age of 28 was enacted.
“Defendants’ rights are not impaired because plaintiff’s claims were active in 2018 when Subsection (1)(a) was enacted, which was three years before defendants had any potential right to invoke a statute of limitations defense because plaintiff was just 15 years old in 2018,” he wrote. “We are unpersuaded that the statute’s purpose – to broaden child sexual abuse victims’ access to civil remedies – was to be reserved for acts occurring after the statute’s effective date or for acts of abuse not yet committed.”
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