Child Victims Act: Public schools immune from some claims, MD Supreme Court rules

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Victims of child sexual abuse cannot sue public schools for abuse that occurred before mid-1971, the Maryland Supreme Court ruled Tuesday.

The state’s high court unanimously ruled that public school boards are immune from claims before July 1, 1971, when they were first exposed to tort claims and required to buy $100,000 liability insurance policies.

Chief Justice Matthew Fader wrote that school boards are immune from suit up to that point because the Maryland General Assembly gave them no way to pay for the claims.

The decision is another blow for Rhonda Sturm, who alleges abuse at a Wicomico County school in the 1970-1971 academic year. She waited decades to sue before the Maryland General Assembly passed the 2023 Child Victims Act. The school system argued that if it was forced to pay Sturm, it would have to use appropriated educational funds.

The Child Victims Act ended the statute of limitations for abuse lawsuits.

The ruling leaves a small and unlikely chance that Sturm could try again and that school boards could be liable in the future for claims from that time period. But that could only happen if the General Assembly creates a mechanism to pay for claims from that time period. The Supreme Court directed that Sturm’s case be dismissed without prejudice so that she could bring it again if the state legislature does so.

“(W)e hold that even if the General Assembly, in passing the CVA, authorized a retroactive waiver of the sovereign immunity of county boards of education for claims based on conduct that occurred before July 1, 1971, that waiver was not effective …” Fader wrote.

Sturm’s lawyers said they were disappointed.

“No survivor’s access to justice should turn on a single date in 1971,” Robert Jenner, of Jenner Law in Baltimore, told The Daily Record.

“We believe that the Maryland Child Victims act afforded victims of childhood sexual assault access to the courts, and the Maryland Supreme Court said, ‘Well, that’s only partially true.’”

In an email, Hillary Nappi, a New York-based lawyer who also represented Sturm, added that the ruling was “a painful outcome for Rhonda and for every survivor who came forward under the Child Victims Act believing the law was finally on their side.”

Both lawyers called on the legislature to change the law.

“The court itself told the legislature how to fix this,” Jenner said. “That remedy is sitting right there in the opinion.”

Paul Butler, a spokesperson for Wicomico County Public Schools, said the decision “provided clarity on the law as it applies to boards of education and complex issues of immunity, insurance, and funding in the context of CVA claims.”

“The ruling impacts court cases and school systems across the State,” Butler said. “While we respect the Court’s ruling, we recognize the sensitivity of these matters and remain firmly committed to the safety, well-being, and trust of our students and families.”

The case reached the state Supreme Court before a verdict or trial. The Wicomico County Circuit Court denied the school board’s motion to dismiss, and the board appealed. The Supreme Court ruled that school boards can appeal if their motions to dismiss based on sovereign immunity are denied.

Meanwhile, the high court agreed Tuesday to hear another case that has major implications for Child Victims Act claims against the state.

The court will decide whether the state government is liable for abuse claims before July 1, 1982, when the Maryland Tort Claims Act took effect and partially waived the state’s sovereign immunity.

The state is facing billions in liability, as more than 12,000 people have sued for alleged abuse, mostly in juvenile detention centers. In its petition for certiorari, the Maryland Office of the Attorney General said the state could be exposed to more than $1 billion in liability for the roughly 1,300 claims from before 1982.

The state has filed more than 200 motions to dismiss pre-1982 claims on sovereign immunity grounds, the petition states; at least four of those have been granted, while at least 48 have been denied.