In 2020, the New Hampshire legislature amended its statute of limitations by removing the limitation period for suits alleging sexual assault. In Ball v. Roman Catholic Bishop of Manchester, (NH Sup. Ct., Oct. 15, 2025), the New Hampshire Supreme Court held that a defendant has a vested right in a statute of limitations defense once the limitation period has run. Therefore, Art. I, Sec. 23 of the New Hampshire Constitution bars applying the 2020 amendment to claims where the prior limitation period had run before 2020. In the case, plaintiff sued the Catholic diocese and Catholic camps alleging negligent hiring, retention, and supervision of an employee who sexually abused him when he attended camp in the 1970s. AP reports on the decision. [Thanks to Thomas Rutledge for the lead.]
