Baltimore judge places temporarily hold on over 1,250 Child Victims Act cases
The administrative order from Administrative Judge and Chief Judge Audrey J.S. Carrión, sought to 'to address the unprecedented influx of cases filed in recent weeks and months' under the law, which eliminated the statute of limitations for civil child sex abuse cases and went into effect in October 2023.
The action won't terminate any cases or keep people from filing new cases under the law, Carrión wrote in the order.
'The decision to stay these cases is in large part due to ongoing discussions about possible ways to manage these cases collectively for pretrial and discovery purposes,' she wrote.
The Maryland Judiciary's rules committee is considering recommending changes to the state's high court 'to establish a clear process for the circuit courts to efficiently manage the high volume of similarly situated CVA cases,' the order says.
The court will wait for 'further guidance' from the rules committee and the Supreme Court of Maryland before the cases can proceed.
'In reaching the decision to temporarily stay these cases, the Court has weighed the understandable desire of parties to proceed with litigating these cases as well as the need for consistency, efficiency, and fairness,' Carrión's order says.
An change to the law came into effect June 1, placing new limits on the payouts possible, with the state's liability dropping from a potential $890,000 to $400,000 per claim. Claims against private institutions shrank from a $1.15 million ceiling to $700,000.
Leading up to June 1, 'there was a significant uptick in cases' under the law in Baltimore City Circuit Court, the order says.
Sun reporter Luke Parker contributed to this story.
Have a news tip? Contact Racquel Bazos at rbazos@baltsun.com, 443-813-0770 or on X as @rzbworks.
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