Maine Court Blocks Charitable-Immunity Defense in Church Abuse Case
July 8, 2009
Maine’s highest court ruled Tuesday that the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland cannot use charitable immunity as a protection in a sex-abuse lawsuit, the Associated Press reports.
Maine is one of a handful of states that retain some form of protection of charities in lawsuits. But the state’s Supreme Judicial Court ruled in a 5-2 decision that the defense can be raised only in cases of negligence by the charity, not intentional acts.
