As covered by WMAR, partner Andy Freeman testified in the Maryland House Judiciary Committee on March 26 against HB1378, a proposed amendment to the Child Victims Act that would make it harder for survivors to recover damages for abuse they suffered in state juvenile detention facilities and would reduce the amount they could recover.
Based on his over-25 years of representing survivors of child sexual abuse, Andy joined other attorneys, including Ben Crump, and several survivors in testifying in opposition to the amendment’s retroactive reduction in the damages available to survivors of abuse while in state custody and to its mandatory but vague arbitration provisions. The forced arbitration, several opponents argued, could require victims to have to recount the abuse they endured multiple times.
Several others called the proposed reduction to the cap on damages awards against the State insulting and discussed how the cap on damages is exacerbating an existing difference in treatment between survivors abused in State institutions and those abused in private institutions. The proposed amendment seeks to reduce the damages cap for claims against the State to $400,000 while keeping the cap at $1.5 million for private organizations and $890,000 for public schools and other county defendants.
The proposed amendment also includes a mandated dispute resolution process, though it leaves the details of what that arbitration would look like to the State to implement. Andy testified that, while voluntary mediation is appropriate, mandatory arbitration is not, and he urged the committee to send the issue to summer study to work out an appropriate process.
The bill still needs to be voted on by the committee before going to the House floor.
Photo by: WMAR-2 News/Amanda Engel.
Navigating the claims process and recounting the trauma of sexual abuse can be difficult and overwhelming, but the attorneys at Brown, Goldstein & Levy are here to help. We have vast experience litigating difficult sexual assault cases and have won million-dollar and multi-million-dollar verdicts and settlements in favor of survivors. We are currently representing scores of survivors with claims against the Archdiocese of Baltimore (including clients who signed releases with the Archdiocese in the past), the Archdiocese of Washington, the Maryland Department of Juvenile Services, numerous private and public schools, and other institutions.
If you believe you have a claim of sexual abuse, do not hesitate to contact us for a confidential consultation. Learn more about our practice here.
ABOUT ANDY FREEMAN
Andy Freeman obtains justice for his clients. He has won numerous verdicts, judgments, and settlements of millions, tens of millions, and in one case over a billion dollars by mastering the relevant law and getting to know his clients, their problems, and the evidence in their cases. In one case, Andy won a verdict of $15 million for a survivor of child sexual abuse. In another trial, he secured a $1 million verdict in a counter-suit on behalf of a girl who was sexually abused by a lawyer, after the lawyer-abuser sued for defamation—a result that was recognized by the National Law Journal as one of the “Top Wins of 2000.” Andy has long been a tenacious advocate for the wellbeing of children, both inside and outside of court. He has served as a board member and board president of the Family Tree (formerly the Child Abuse Prevention Center of Maryland) and of the Family League of Baltimore City, and as a board member for Safe and Sound: Baltimore’s Campaign for Children, Youth and Families. Andy was also a volunteer with the Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) of Baltimore, a nonprofit that fights for the best interests of abused and neglected children involved in Baltimore’s foster care system, which awarded him multiple CASA Recognition Awards, and he and his wife (the former Executive Director of the Baltimore Child Abuse Center) were Baltimore City foster parents.
ABOUT BROWN, GOLDSTEIN & LEVY
Founded in 1982, Brown, Goldstein & Levy is a law firm based in Baltimore, Maryland, with an office in Washington, D.C. The firm is nationally recognized in a wide variety of practice areas, including complex civil and commercial litigation, civil rights, health care, family law, and criminal defense. Above all else, Brown, Goldstein & Levy is a client-centered law firm that brings decades of experience and passionate, effective advocacy to your fight for justice.