OLYMPIA — People who were sexually abused as children in Washington may soon be able to sue the state, schools or other institutions for failing to stop the abuse, no matter how long ago it occurred.
A bill moving through the Legislature would eliminate the statute of limitations for civil lawsuits seeking damages for such abuse.
House Bill 1618 would apply retroactively, removing time limits that have stymied some lawsuits by people sexually abused as children, who frequently do not fully confront the trauma they endured until decades later.
The bill passed the state House earlier this month on an 82-14 vote and cleared a Senate committee last week. While it has received overwhelming support, some critics warn the measure could open up the state and school districts to massive liabilities for long-ago abuse.
Washington's current statute of limitations requires victims of child sexual abuse to file lawsuits within three years of when the abuse occurred, or three years from when they discovered harms caused by it, such as depression, addiction and suicidality.
Those restrictions have discouraged some survivors from pursuing lawsuits and caused others to have cases dismissed because they'd confided in counselors or therapists years ago, according to bill supporters.
"I've heard story after story of survivors of all different types trying to access the justice system to hold people accountable, to be able to move on with their lives, and they can't do that. This is a really meaningful way to address that," said Rep. Darya Farivar, D-Seattle, the prime sponsor of the bill, in an interview.
At a March 21 public hearing, backers of the proposal, including survivors, experts and plaintiff attorneys, urged lawmakers to remove the time barrier.
One woman testified that she'd been raped at 16 in 2005 by her soccer coach. She said she lost her love of the sport and spiraled into depression and drug problems.
More than a decade later, after seeing other women file sexual abuse lawsuits against the same soccer club she'd played for, the woman filed her own in 2018. Lawyers defending the soccer club twice tried to get her case dismissed, citing the statute of limitations, because she'd been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder in 2009 after talking with a counselor.
Those efforts did not succeed, and last year the Olympia-based Blackhills Football Club agreed to pay the woman a $7.5 million settlement. It was the fourth and largest abuse-lawsuit payout by the club, which has paid nearly $13 million in total over allegations against its coaches, according to The Olympian newspaper.
the woman told lawmakers the settlement helped her finally come to grips with what happened and start living her life fully instead of just surviving day to day. "I would like to be able to pass this bill so that other survivors can start living the life they deserve as well," she said.
(The Seattle Times typically does not identify crime victims.)
As with that case, Washington's current statute of limitations has not stopped people from filing lawsuits and winning settlements over abuse that occurred years ago.
But plaintiff attorneys and victims advocates say legal fights over the statute cause some cases to get dismissed and others to be dragged out for years.
Darrell Cochran, one of the attorneys in the Blackhills Football Club Case, said in an interview a federal judge dismissed another client's case against a school district because of records showing the victim had previously disclosed the abuse in counseling.
"You can't weaponize the fact that a young woman is trying to put her life back together," he said.
The move to end the civil statute of limitations follows the Legislature's action in 2019 eliminating the statute of limitations for criminal prosecutions of child sex abuse.
While HB 1618 received overwhelming support in public testimony, some warned it could unleash a costly barrage of lawsuits against the state and other public institutions.
Tyna Ek, general counsel for the Washington Schools Risk Management Pool, pointed to other states that have loosened time limits on abuse lawsuits. In New York, after the state in 2019 opened up a new window for survivors to file suit over childhood sexual abuse.
Ek suggested at the hearing that lawmakers instead consider establishing a victim compensation fund.
"If you are going to open the floodgates against public entities, like schools... do it in a way where you set up a mechanism and you fund it," she said.
The state's Department of Children, Youth and Families is already facing 222 lawsuits over alleged abuse in foster care and other settings.
The Attorney General's Office estimates an additional 50 lawsuits per year will be filed against DCYF if HB 1618 is passed, according to a fiscal analysis of HB 1618.
If current payout trends hold, the state's risk management office estimates that could cost the state an additional $25 million to $100 million per year, the analysis says.
But backers of the legislation say such costs are the price of justice, arguing the financial and emotional burden for abuse has long been carried by survivors.
"At the end of the day, it's about accountability, it is about holding ourselves accountable when we think about our state agencies," Farivar said.
"I really consider childhood sexual abuse to be among the most egregious things that humans can do to each other" she said. "And I don't think we can put a timeline on that recovery."
