Statute of Limitations Held to Bar Personal Injury Suit Against Catholic Diocese Based on 25-Year-Old Recovered Memories of Sexual Abuse

Mcconville v. Rhoads, No. L04-422, 2005 WL 1463850 (Va. Cir. Ct. June 8, 2005)

A man who alleged that he recently recovered memories of sexual abuse some twenty-five years earlier by a nun who taught at his Catholic school had his lawsuit against the Catholic Diocese of Richmond dismissed because the claim was barred by the Virginia statute of limitations on filing personal injury claims.  In Virginia, a lawsuit to recover for personal injuries generally must be filed within two years from the time the harm occurred, although if the injured person is a minor the two-year period does not begin to run until the person reaches the age of eighteen...

Found in DMHL Volume 25 Issue 1