Child Victims Act Claims Defense Counsel

States across the nation—including New York, Arizona, Montana, New Jersey, and California—have passed Child Victims Act (CVA) legislation extending the statute of limitations for alleged child sexual abuse and establishing lookback periods for reviving claims. From the inception of the first CVA in New York State, Goldberg Segalla’s nationwide team of experienced defense attorneys has led the discussion on the risks, implications, and claims-handling considerations of the acts, writing and presenting on liability and defense issues nationally and in multiple states across our footprint.

Goldberg Segalla’s deep bench of experienced trial attorneys with decades of experience litigating difficult and frequently high-profile sexual abuse and molestation claims positioned the firm as a top choice to defend claims brought under CVAs. Since the passage of CVAs across the country and the subsequent onslaught of claims involving long-term latency periods and other complications, Goldberg Segalla has remained at the forefront of this evolving field of litigation, defending numerous individuals and organizations in CVA claims and serving on regional CVA defense panels for multiple insurers.

Our CVA defense practice is distinguished by experience including:

  • Defending CVA claims and other child sex abuse claims in California, Connecticut, Illinois, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and elsewhere across our footprint
  • Handling litigation venued in New York and other CVA hotbeds on behalf of out-of-state defendants—including, currently, a claim in New York against a religious order based in Wisconsin
  • Representing hundreds of schools and school districts, religious orders and organizations, health care and long-term care companies, mental hygiene agencies, nonprofits, and municipalities and public entities, as well as individuals in CVA and child sex abuse claims
  • Assisting with the defense of some of the highest-profile U.S. child sex abuse claims of the twenty-first century

DEFENDING CHILD VICTIMS ACT CLAIMS AND RELATED ACTIONS

Although often misunderstood, the New York Child Victims Act and other state counterparts do not create a new cause of action for claims which arise from alleged child sex abuse. Rather, the principal effects of the statute as to civil claims are to revive claims that are time-barred and negate condition precedents as it relates to municipal entities.

Goldberg Segalla’s CVA defense team comprises over 30 experienced partners across our footprint—all of whom understand the nuances of CVAs from a procedural and substantive standpoint. Critically, though, we also possess experience handling the wide range of general liability, municipal liability, employment, malpractice, and other claims that frequently arise in connection with or in the wake of CVA and child sex abuse claims.

We have handled claims including:

  • CVA claims
  • Non-CVA child sex abuse and molestation claims
  • Employment practices liability claims including negligent training, supervision, and hiring claims frequently brought against the employers of primary defendants in CVA or other child sex abuse claims
  • Failure-to-act claims brought against municipal bodies and departments of state government
  • Malpractice claims brought against child psychologists and other mental health care providers related to child sexual abuse claims