The Louisiana legislature yesterday gave final passage to HB402 (full text). The law clarifies that the 3-year look-back window to bring child sex abuse claims that was enacted last year applies to sex abuse claims, no matter how long ago they arose. As explained by Louisiana Illuminator:
[O]ver the past year, the Catholic Church has repeatedly argued in Louisiana courts that some of the claims being brought under the lookback window should be thrown out because the window only applies to abuse that has happened since 1993. Attorneys for the church said last year’s law is restrictive because it references an old statute regarding child abuse that wasn’t enacted until that year....
HB402 eliminates that ambiguity.
