William M Leahey

William M Leahey
A Canadian Family Law Lawyer
William M Leahey
An abuser's estate fair game-judge; Ruling allows woman to
sue alleged perpetrator even after death..

A lawsuit claiming damages for childhood sexual abuse can be
pursued even after the alleged perpetrator's death, a Nova Scotia
judge has ruled. In a decision that extends the deadline for
launching such actions Justice William Kelly of the Supreme Court
has allowed an Ontario woman to sue the estate of her brother, who
died in 1998.

The woman claims her brother, who was seven years older,
physically and sexually abused her 45 years ago, during their
childhood in a village near Halifax. The judge, in interim ruling made
public Wednesday, acknowledge it will be difficult for those
administering the estate, valued at about $215,000, to mount a
defence.








Focussed in the Areas of Family Law
But to strike out the claim on the basis of this prejudice alone one
would almost have to conclude that in the circumstances of the death
of a defendant no similar action against an estate could survive,
"Justice Kelly wrote. To so conclude would not advance respect for
the administration of justice and would be an unjust comment on the
capacity of a trial court to ensure a fair trail. Family members can
testify to compensate for the loss of the main as a witness, he added.
And the delay in bringing the case to trial will have an impact on the
memory of witnesses on both sides.

The Woman's lawyer, Bill Leahey says the case is the first to test
limitation periods, introduced in the mid-1990s, on launching lawsuits
based on sexual abuse. This is going to have wild ranging impact, he
said Wednesday. The limitation period defence has been removed for
practical purposes in sexual abuse cases. The judge allowed the
claim to proceed even though the woman alleges she was abused in
the late 1940s and early 1950s, when she was between age 10 and
16..



The law allows actions to be filed within four years of an alleged
victim becoming old enough to sue, or up to four years after the
person becomes aware though therapy or other treatment that abuse
occurred.

The woman launched the action in 1999, after her brother's death
but within two years of starting therapy that linked her depression
troubled relationships and medical problems such as stomach pains
to the alleged abuse. The ruling also establishes that a claim for
damages for breach of "fiduciary" duty - a person's duty to protect a
more vulnerable person - can survive the limitation deadline. Mr.
Leahey says that has implications for people who claim they were
abused by a parent, older sibling, teacher, doctor or other authority
figure.

People who are out there who were abused in their childhood and
are now adults and think they can't sue now have the right to sue.
Mr. Leahey expects judges will want accusers to account for failure
to launch action while alleged abuser was alive.

Thanks for Visiting