Roman Catholic bishops in California are asking a judge to throw out a law that allowed accusers of clergy sexual abuse to sue even if they were molested decades ago.
Motions were filed this month in superior courts across the state asking judges to rule the 2019 law unconstitutional. In 2019, the state provided a three-year-period that began on January 1, 2020 permitting suits in cases that exceeded the statute of limitations. The law also extended the age of people who could sue for childhood sexual abuse from 26 to 40. The motions challenging the law were filed on behalf of the archbishop of Los Angeles, Orange, Fresno, Monterey, Oakland, Sacramento, San Jose and Santa Rosa.