Issues Remain On Statute of Limitations In Priest Abuse Case

In Doe 76C v. Archdiocese of Minneapolis and St. Paul, (MN App., June 27, 2011), a Minnesota appellate court held that questions of fact remain on the issue of whether the statute of limitations had run on tort and fraud claims growing out of alleged childhood sexual abuse by a priest.  In reversing the trial court's grant of summary judgment to defendant, the court held that an expert's testimony on repressed memory should be admitted on the issue of when plaintiff had reason to believe he had been abused.  The court also held that plaintiff's becoming aware that the priest had been accused of abusing other children did not necessarily put him on notice that he had a cause of action for fraud.