Civil Suit in Sex Abuse Case

[Long Shot]

I am a teacher and I have a student who was sexually abused as a 7 year by a 13 year old neighbor. This neighbor was convicted in family court of the crimes, and sentenced to confinement in a treatment hospital.

 

The abused child is now 10 and the parent is of little means (no health insurance etc.) and the child only recieves school provided counseling and services (he probably would also benefit from outside cuonselling as well).

 

I met with this parent and she is a single mother who is niave to all legal stuff (as am I), and states that she never took Civil action against the parents of the abuser (since the abuser was/is a minor).

 

My question is can this mother take civil action and win some sort of award against the parents of the abuser (the abusers family is affluent and owns plenty of real estate).

 

Any advise from lawers would really be appreciated. I want to get a feeling of what she can do. As a note the state is New York.

 

Thanks

[Tyler Durden]

I'm only a 3rd year law student, so take my advice with a grain of salt. First, it would seem that you need to check the applicable statute of limitations in your jurisdiction. You didn't say when this event occurred, but time is always of the essence. As far as holding the parents liable for the acts of their minor child, again you would probably need to check with an attorney in your area to find out exactly what the state statutes proscribe. But just as a general assertion, there very often are vicarious liability statutes that can hold parties who have special relationships (i.e. physician-patient, employor-employee, child-parent) with the offender liable for those actions of the offender. Unfortunately, in this context, for a parent to be liable there would have to be some sort of "family purpose" that resulted in the harm (kind of like a "joint venture"). So that probably won't work. Your best bet is to show that the parents knew of the child's propensities or should have known; then your looking at a case that may allow some recovery under a theory of negligence on behalf of the parents. Again, a lot is going to depend on the statutes in your state. But it would appear to me that there is a cause of action here providing that the mother and the child can prove some significant damages. If you talk to an attorney, you'll also want to know if the criminal conviction is admissable in court. I know it wouldn't be allowed in federal court, but obviously, I wouldn't know about your jurisdiction. Hope this helps. ;)

[Long Shot]

Thanks for the lengthy and well preparded response. The abuse happened 2 years ago. The mother had spoken with a megan's law counseler and I suggested that she contact them to find out her rights. This situation is very disconcerting.

 

She also tells me that the boy who did the abuse is being released from the treatment program and in a few months and will be back accross the street from her. She also stated that she cannot get another restraining order unless the kid physically does something else.

[Charlie_Foxtrot]

Thanks for the lengthy and well preparded response. The abuse happened 2 years ago. The mother had spoken with a megan's law counseler and I suggested that she contact them to find out her rights. This situation is very disconcerting.

 

She also tells me that the boy who did the abuse is being released from the treatment program and in a few months and will be back accross the street from her. She also stated that she cannot get another restraining order unless the kid physically does something else.

 

 

There are a million factual permeations (a few were discussed by jtscherm above) that could affect the result.

 

The short answer is that the child's mother should talk to an attorney ASAP because it looks like the deadline to file this sort of claim may be running out (the "Statute of Limitations"). Generally for this kind of case, the child's mother should be able to find an attorney who will take the case on a contingency basis (i.e., the attorney will take a percentage of the money ultimately recovered - usually 33%).

 

If the abuser's parent are wealthy, they will undoubtedly have excellent representation, so the abused child's mother should go with the best attorney that will take her case (i.e., don't just go with the first attorney who says yes. Interview a couple - she wants someone who specializes in this type of case.)

 

Even if the abused child is woefully outgunned attorney-wise (an unfortunate by-product of our judicial system is that those with money get better "justice"), she may still be able to walk away with some sort of settlement that may not make the child whole again, but could ease the financial burden just enough to make things a little easier.

 

If anyone can recommend an attorney for this, they should PM Long Shot ASAP.

[acrazygolfer]

Consult with an attorney. Most states, if not all, have provision for the tolling of the running of the applicable statute of limitations in favor of minors during their minority. Most states also have different timelines for the filing of the complaint, depending on whether the person who committed the crime is a family member or a stranger.

 

Call the local bar association for referral.

[Charlie_Foxtrot]

Consult with an attorney. Most states, if not all, have provision for the tolling of the running of the applicable statute of limitations in favor of minors during their minority. Most states also have different timelines for the filing of the complaint, depending on whether the person who committed the crime is a family member or a stranger.

 

Call the local bar association for referral.

 

ACG-

 

I realize you may not know the answer to this (I don't), but does the tolling apply if the parents and the minor know about the abuse? For some reason I thought the tolling was limited to cases where the abuse was not "discovered" (i.e. remembered, admitted, etc) until a later date, and the tolling was designed to give the minor an opportunity to seek redress as an adult. Now that the topic has been raised, I'm interested in learning a little about the rules.

[acrazygolfer]

Tolling in this instant has more to do with capacity (minor and insanity) and not the discovery of the wrongful conduct. Given the facts of this case (identity of the assailant is known, he was convicted in juvenile court, readily available assets to satisfy potential settlement/judgment), the better course of action is to seek civil relief now and not later.

[DemolitionMan]

Excellent advice on interviewing more than one attorney. Do that and do it soon as there is certainly a case here. Don't worry about the nuances of the law right, that's the job of the attorney. A good attorney will find a way to make the case - it's not going to get tossed out by the court. If the parents of the abuser are wealthy, then they have something important to them to lose - money. They will get a ***** for representation, be sure to get a bigger ***** with some brains.

 

Maybe you will get lucky and the abuser's parents are so embarrassed they will be willing to pay quickly just to make it all go away. But be prepared that this will be a long and nasty fight; one that will not be pleasant for the abused child - it will be like getting abused all over again. If the mother and child can survive the onslaught of unpleasantness, and somehow get an attorney who will stay passionate about this even though it's an expensive fight, then they just may get a little justice.

 

Good luck to the victims, this is one of the worse elements of society and those parents should be made to pay a lot.

[Long Shot]

First of all thank you for the insightful advice. As I stated I am the child’s teacher and it is a sad case. The poor child has been so off since he was told of the release of the offender. The kid has been getting in trouble outside the classroom and I know why, but I cant go telling everyone that has a run in with the kid that he is doing it because of what is going on, so I have been handling his discipline (I am also dean of students/discipline) so needless to say I am taking into account what is going on with the kid and going “easy” on him, but this has made me unpopular with much of the staff, but luckily I don’t really give a crap what other people think as long as I am doing the right thing.

 

But as his teacher I can only go so far. I am having our social worker get more involved in leading this mother into the right legal action. We have put her in touch with the people who will help her get a restraining order for when the offender is released (he lives across the street from them, and the victim and his mother cant afford to move). I have suggested a second time that she look into a suit (the mother is not highly educated so I get the feeling she is very intimidated by the legal system and the people involved in it), but I think I am going to do some leg work and find a few attorneys that have a good reputation and experience in this type of situation (If anyone has any suggestions we live on Long Island New York and we are located in Suffolk County) I have a few good friends who are lawyers in other fields and I will call them for some referrals.

 

Thanks again for the advice. I will keep you guys up to date on any progress.

 

Sean

[acrazygolfer]

I want to commend you for caring enough to get involve. I'm going to PM you my former classmate and roomate who's now practicing law in NYC with his number. He's a transaction atty. but has many contacts. Best wishes.

[Long Shot]

Got it thanks