South Florida Injury Lawyer Blog
Florida religious institutions and leaders enjoy broad legal protections under both the state and U.S. Constitutions. And while there is nothing in law that expressly protects clergy, churches, temples, mosques, or religious schools from civil sexual abuse lawsuits, some have argued – with mixed success – that the First Amendment protects them from liability when the failures analyzed are decisions rooted in religious doctrine.
As a South Florida sexual abuse lawyer can explain, sexual assault and molestation are not protected under the umbrella of free religious practice or free speech. However, churches have argued that they cannot be held accountable by the government/courts for negligence in carrying out certain functions – such as hiring and retention – because those functions stem directly from church doctrine – and are therefore protected by the First Amendment.
That was the argument before the Florida Supreme Court in the case of Malicki v. Doe. At the time, the Florida Supreme Court rejected this argument from a church accused of protecting an alleged abuser – though the ruling was split and somewhat controversial in the legal community. Churches will still try to cite the First Amendment in their efforts to sidestep responsibility for failure to protect vulnerable congregants from predatory leaders and members. That makes it all the more important to hire a civil trial lawyer who knows what to expect and how to counter such assertions.
Challenges to Florida Sexual Assault Claims Against Churches
But even with a growing chorus of successful cases, one should not assume that suing a church for sexual abuse in Florida will be easy. Some of the most significant hurdles in church sexual abuse lawsuits are:
- Statute of limitations. Florida has a 2-year statute of limitations for most all tort claims rooted in negligence, per F.S. 95.11. (It used to be 4 years, but the law recently changed to shorten that window.) That includes potential causes of action in a sex abuse case against an institution. That said, if the abuse was ongoing, the statute of limitations clock wouldn’t start until the last instance of abuse. However, there may be some exceptions, particularly if you suffered sexual molestation or abuse years ago, but you were a child. Intentional tort claims – filed directly against the abuser – in cases involving child sexual abuse can be filed at any point.
- Comparative fault. This is less an issue when the victim is a child, but in cases involving adult or even older teen victims, church defendants may argue there was “consent” between the parties, and thus the accuser was comparatively at-fault for the relationship. They may even bring up the sexual history of the plaintiff. It holds less water when we outline the power imbalance between both parties, but it’s a potential obstacle nonetheless.
- Lack of evidence. There are often few if any witnesses to what happened beyond the people involved. Even if it can be proven the abuse occurred, establishing that the church or its leaders were negligent can be difficult. It’s imperative that such claims only be handled by experienced civil sexual assault attorneys.
Holding Abusers – and Their Protectors – Accountable
As staunch advocates for sexual abuse survivors, we are committed to giving prospective clients all the information they need to decide if and how they want to go forward. Continue reading