New Jersey State Bar Association headquarters at 1 Constitution Square, New Brunswick, NJ. Credit: Google

Capitol Report

Supreme Court sides with expanded protections for child sexual abuse survivors regarding notices of claim. The New Jersey Supreme Court agreed with arguments advanced by the New Jersey State Bar Association (NJSBA) and held that amendments to the Child Sexual Assault Act (CSAA) dispensing of the requirement to file a Tort Claims Act (TCA) notice within 90 days applied where the cause of action accrued earlier than the effective date of the amendments to the law. In W.S. v. Hildreth, the Court found in favor of the plaintiff, whose cause of action accrued in 2016. The defendant's motion to dismiss was denied, which decision was affirmed by the Appellate Division.

The holding was consistent with the Association's position sought in its amicus curiae brief arguing that the sweeping changes in the statute should be applied here because that was the intent of the changes in the law.

Basing its decision on the plain language of the statute, the Court opined that not applying the statute to cases predating the effective date of the amendments "would lead to absurd results." Finding that the purpose of the amendments "was to greatly increase the ability of victims of sexual abuse to pursue justice through the court system," the Court dispensed of the argument that such a reading would expose the "State, school, districts, and local units of government to civil claims that may result in substantial judgments against affected governments."