Abuse lawsuit against Archdiocese of Miami revived
MIAMI - An appeals court has cleared the way for a man to pursue part of a lawsuit against the Archdiocese of Miami over allegations that he was sexually abused by a priest while a child.
On Wednesday, a three-judge panel of the 3rd District Court of Appeal overturned part of a ruling by a Miami-Dade County circuit judge that dismissed the case.
The man, identified in the ruling as John Doe 1, alleges that he was sexually abused by a priest between 1999 and 2001 when the man was between 7 and 9 years old. The man did not disclose the abuse to his parents when he was a minor but filed the lawsuit against the archdiocese in 2021.
The lawsuit alleged negligence and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
The circuit judge, however, agreed with archdiocese arguments that the lawsuit should be dismissed because of statutes of limitation. The appeals court Wednesday ruled that the negligence allegation was barred by a statute of limitations but said a 2010 change in state law allows the man to pursue the allegation of intentional infliction of emotional distress.
The ruling did not identify the priest, who is not a party to the case.