The Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s July 21, opinion in Rice v. Altoona-Johnstown Diocese, disregards the court’s own prior decisions and creates a judicial rule of immunity for the Catholic Church. With that rule in hand, the church can now rest assured that it may not have to answer to hundreds of sexual abuse victims who were injured by its predator priests.
Up until now, the Supreme Court has mandated that the fact-intensive questions concerning the discovery rule and the doctrine of fraudulent concealment, such as when a plaintiff is on notice of the possible culpability of a defendant in causing harm, are reserved for a jury. The Supreme Court has never before issued an opinion allowing these factual questions to be resolved as a matter of law at the pleadings stage, before the parties had a chance to engage in the discovery process.
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law are third party online distributors of the broad collection of current and archived versions of ALM's legal news publications. LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law customers are able to access and use ALM's content, including content from the National Law Journal, The American Lawyer, Legaltech News, The New York Law Journal, and Corporate Counsel, as well as other sources of legal information.
For questions call 1-877-256-2472 or contact us at [email protected]