Michigan Sex Abuse Lawsuits

New Lawsuit

March 24, 2025: In a new lawsuit filed last week in the MDL, an Ohio resident sued Syngenta alleging that Syngenta’s herbicide Paraquat caused her to develop Parkinson’s disease after prolonged exposure. The case seeks damages for her permanent physical injuries, pain, and suffering, alleging negligence, strict liability, and failure to warn.

Critical Deadline Alert: Time Running Out for Michigan Childhood Sex Abuse Survivors to File Claims

January 25, 2025

Our lawyers are taking Michigan juvenile detention center sex abuse lawsuits with the expectation of a new law, especially given how close we got in the last session. But which lawsuits are viable even without a new law?

The Nassar amendments, named after the infamous case involving former USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar, were enacted in June 2018 in Michigan to expand the rights of sexual abuse survivors. These changes significantly altered the statute of limitations for filing civil claims related to childhood sexual abuse, providing more time for survivors to seek justice. Under the amendments, survivors abused as minors now have until their 28th birthday to bring a claim, a substantial increase from previous deadlines. But until the law is changed, the amendments are not retroactive. This means they do not revive claims whose statutes of limitations had already expired before the law took effect.

So this is the 2025 deadline to file a sex abuse suit under the Nassar amendments and related laws:

• If a minor was abused after June 2018, they have until their 28th birthday to file a claim.
• If the abuse occurred before June 2018 and the statute of limitations had not expired by that time, the survivor also has until their 28th birthday to bring a claim.
• For abuse that occurred before June 2018, where the statute of limitations had expired, survivors had only three years after their 18th birthday to file, and the Nassar amendments do not retroactively apply to change the deadline for these expired claims.

AG Report Exposes Decades of Abuse in Lansing Catholic Diocese

January 2, 2025

The Michigan Attorney General’s office has released a new public report providing details of its investigation into alleged sexual abuse of children within the Lansing Catholic Diocese dating back to the 1950s. The report is over 300 pages, and it names 56 individuals within the Diocese (including 48 priests) who have been “credibly accused” of child sexual abuse.

Survivors Make Emotional Plea as Justice for Survivors Bill Faces Fourth Potential Death

December 23, 2024

Survivors of sexual assault and their advocates delivered an emotional plea at the Michigan State Capitol, urging lawmakers to act on the Justice for Survivors bill package before the legislative session ends, fearing it may die for the fourth time. This package, as we talked about in the December 13 update below, seeks to extend the statute of limitations for survivors to sue their abusers and eliminate governmental immunity for institutions that enabled abuse through negligence.

The Senate has already passed the bills with bipartisan support, but political gamesmanship in the House threatens to stall progress. As we all know, the impact of sexual abuse, unfortunately, does not vanish with time. This legislation represents a chance to give survivors a long-overdue opportunity to seek justice. It is ironic that some lawmakers fail to show up for survivors’ justice while expecting those same survivors to relive their trauma just to be heard. If protecting children and holding predators accountable is not worth a vote, what is?

Law Firm Investigating Sex Abuse Claims Against Dr. Oumair Aejaz

December 18, 2024

Our law firm is actively investigating sexual abuse lawsuits against Dr. Oumair Aejaz, an internal medicine physician formerly employed at Henry Ford Macomb Hospital and Ascension Genesys Hospital in Michigan.

Michigan Senate Advances Landmark “Justice for Survivors” Legislation Package

December 13, 2024

Today, the Michigan Senate advanced the “Justice for Survivors” legislative package (S.B. 1187-1192), aiming to reform the statute of limitations for sexual assault claims and enhance survivors’ access to justice. This bill would upend the restrictive rules for filing sex abuse lawsuits in Michigan:

• Extended Filing Periods: Victims of criminal sexual conduct would have up to 10 years after the incident, seven years after recognizing the assault, or until they turn 42 years old to file a civil lawsuit, whichever is later.
• Revival Window: A one-year window would allow survivors to bring claims regardless of when the assault occurred, enabling those previously time-barred to seek justice.
• Damages Cap: This is the worst part of the bill. The legislation unfairly caps damages for sexual abuse lawsuits at $1.5 million.
• Elimination of Time Limits for Convicted Perpetrators: There would be no time limits on filing a civil sexual assault claim if the perpetrator has been convicted of the offense.
• Accountability for Educational Institutions: The package removes governmental immunity for educational institutions in sexual assault cases if the institution knew an employee or agent had a history of sexual misconduct and failed to prevent the assault.

It is not a perfect bill. But if it passes the House, it will be a huge step forward for victims.

Court Upholds Dismissal of Historic Abuse Case, Highlights Need for Law Reform

November 21, 2024

The Michigan Court of Appeals upheld the dismissal of a sexual abuse lawsuit against multiple defendants, ruling that the claims were barred by statutes of limitation. The plaintiff, who alleged abuse from 1979 to 1993, filed his complaint in 2023, asserting repressed memories of the abuse surfaced during therapy in 2022.

The court rejected his arguments for tolling under Michigan’s insanity provision, the criminal sexual conduct tolling statute, and fraudulent concealment. It found no evidence the plaintiff was “insane” when the claims accrued, and the criminal sexual conduct tolling statute did not apply retroactively to revive already-expired claims. Additionally, the plaintiff failed to prove that the defendants fraudulently concealed his claims, as he had reported the abuse to authorities decades earlier.

The court affirmed that the applicable limitation periods, which ranged from two to ten years depending on the type of claim, had expired long before the plaintiff’s filing. While the plaintiff argued his repressed memories and the defendants’ conduct justified tolling, the court held that such claims were insufficient under Michigan law. As a result, the trial court’s dismissal of the lawsuit was upheld, reinforcing the limitations on pursuing decades-old claims without statutory exceptions or sufficient evidence of concealment.

The judges got it right. It is the law that is wrong and needs to be changed.

AG Closes Nassar Investigation, Criticizes MSU for Document Delays

November 2, 2024

The Michigan Attorney General has officially closed its investigation into what knowledge Michigan State University may have had about Larry Nassar, the former sports doctor for MSU and USA Gymnastics who has been convicted for decades of sexual abuse. The AG’s office said that its review of over 6,000 documents yielded no new information, but it publicly criticized MSU for withholding the documents for such a long time.

Michigan Church Leader Charged With Child Sexual Abuse Crimes

October 7, 2024

A church leader from Oakwood Church in Augusta Township, MI, was recently charged with numerous sexual crimes, including sexual abuse of children. Zachary Radcliff, 29-years-old, is the worship director at the church and has strong ties to MAGA and other conservative political organizations. The criminal charges came after a police investigation uncovered incriminating materials on his home computer.

Attorney Files Harassment Lawsuit Against Colleague Who Mediated Anderson Settlement

September 20, 2024

A former attorney has filed a federal lawsuit accusing a fellow lawyer of sexual harassment during and after her employment at his firm.

The human interest part of the story is that the accused lawyer had also served as the mediator in the high-profile settlement involving the late University of Michigan physician Robert Anderson, who was accused of sexually assaulting more than 1,000 victims. The plaintiff claims that after she confronted him about the harassment, her new employer terminated her and disparaged her reputation, making it difficult for her to continue working in Michigan.

The lawsuit details the attorney’s discovery of hundreds of unauthorized photos of herself on the accused lawyer’s device, taken while she worked at his firm. She also alleges that the lawyer continued to stalk her after she left the firm and that her subsequent employer became hostile after she raised concerns about his ongoing harassment.

Michigan Supreme Court Deals Blow to Abuse Survivors in Retroactivity Ruling

August 6, 2024

Bad news. The Michigan Supreme Court ruled that a 2018 law extending civil suit deadlines for sexual assault victims does not apply retroactively. As our June 7 post below indicated, we were optimistic the court would go the other way.

The law, enacted post-Larry Nassar scandal, included a specific retroactive provision only for Nassar’s victims, not applying to other past cases. The plaintiff, a priest clergy abuse victim, argued his case became actionable in 2020 upon recognizing the abuse’s impact on his mental health, citing the law’s provision that allows filing within three years of such a discovery.

But the court’s majority held that the statute’s language did not intend retroactive application beyond Nassar’s victims. This decision maintains the standard that claims must be filed within three years of the assault unless specifically allowed by the statute. Three justices dissented, questioning the interpretation of the law’s discovery implications.

It is up to the Michigan legislature to fix this mess.

Michigan House Stalls Civil Statute Reform While Approving Criminal Changes

July 15, 2024

While the Michigan House approved three bills related to extending the statute of limitations for criminal sexual conduct, efforts to extend the statute of limitations for civil lawsuits have stalled. Again. The bills that would allow victims more time to sue perpetrators or institutions are considered more controversial and were not brought to a vote before the summer recess. We still hope remaining bills will pass when the House reconvenes in the fall but it is hard to predict.

Michigan Supreme Court Poised to Rule on Retroactive Application of Abuse Law

June 7, 2024

In June 2024, the Michigan Supreme Court is poised to rule on the question of whether a 2018 law extending the statute of limitations for some sexual abuse claims can apply retroactively to cases involving abuse by clergy, school staff, or other authority figures from decades ago. This law was initially passed in the wake of the Larry Nassar scandal and specifically included a carveout for Nassar victims, allowing them to file old claims. The debate centers on whether this provision should also apply to other past abuse victims.

The controversy arose from a lawsuit by an individual claiming to have been abused by a priest as a teenager. He argues that the 2018 law should allow him to file a lawsuit based on recently discovered mental health issues linked to the alleged abuse, despite the traditional statute of limitations having expired. The Diocese of Lansing, a defendant in the case, argues that the provision was meant to apply to future cases, not to past incidents.

Lower courts have issued conflicting decisions regarding this interpretation, with one court siding with the claimant and another with the defendant, leading to the current Supreme Court review.

The outcome of this decision could potentially open the door – open the floodgates, actually – for many other historical abuse claims against various institutions by interpreting the law to apply retroactively to cases beyond those involving Nassar.

Lawsuit Alleges Widespread Abuse at Now-Closed Wolverine Treatment Center

May 15, 2024

More than a dozen teenagers were sexually abused by staff at the Wolverine Secure Treatment Center in Michigan, according to a lawsuit filed in Saginaw County. The center, which closed in 2021, housed teenagers placed by courts, the state child welfare system, and families. The detention center sex abuse lawsuit accuses Wolverine Human Services, the center’s operator, of gross negligence, detailing abuse of 13 boys and one girl in their rooms, showers, and other locations.

Italian Woman Allowed to Pursue Sex Abuse Lawsuit Against Au Pair Service

May 3, 2024

Last week, a Michigan federal court ruled an Italian woman can continue a sex abuse lawsuit she filed last year alleging she was raped by a man she met through an online au pair service, aupair.com. She claimed that the service, which a German company and i, failed to adequately screen and monitor its users. If a person seeking a nanny does not have a child, that would seem to be a pretty easy thing to figure out, right?

This oversight allowed the man to pose as a host family from East Lansing, Michigan, and lure her to the U.S., claiming he needed a nanny for his niece. Upon her arrival in Michigan, instead of the au pair job she expected, there was no child at the home and she was brutally sexually assaulted. She immediately returned to Italy and went directly to a hospital, where she was administered a rape kit.

The third-party defendants moved to dismiss the case on several grounds, including lack of subject matter and personal jurisdiction, arguing that the U.S. court was not the appropriate venue to hear the case. They also cited the doctrine of forum non conveniens, suggesting that another venue would be more suitable for addressing the issues raised in the lawsuit.

The judge refused to dismiss the lawsuit and allowed the woman to amend her complaint to include the new claims under the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act to establish federal jurisdiction.

Court Decision Highlights Harsh Reality of Michigan’s Sex Abuse Statute of Limitations

April 12, 2024

In Michigan, the stringent statute of limitations for sex abuse lawsuits is a real barrier to justice, as underscored by a recent court decision. In this case, an individual plaintiff filed claims against multiple hotel operators, including Motel 6, Marriott International, and others, alleging they facilitated her sex trafficking from 2003 to 2014.

The plaintiffs’ sex abuse lawyers included a laundry list of open and obvious signs of sex trafficking that were present at each of the hotels, including

1. cash payments for rooms
2. frequent foot traffic to and from the rooms
3. signs of sex trafficking in rooms e.g. excessive condoms, lubricant, ‘do not disturb’ signs being constantly hung on doors rented by sex traffickers
4. women arriving at hotels and being checked in with their trafficker with little to no personal possessions
5. women arriving with signs of physical abuse
6. women arriving at the hotel who appear fearful or anxious
7. refusing cleaning services for days.

Despite the grave nature of the allegations, the court’s application of the ten-year statute of limitations meant many of the plaintiff’s claims were dismissed because they did not fall within the ten years prior to the lawsuit being filed. This illustrates the often harsh impact of statutory time limits, particularly in sex trafficking cases, where victims may not be able to seek justice due to the time taken to escape and recover from such traumatic circumstances.

The court did allow claims against Farmington Hospitality (Fairfield Inn & Suites) to proceed because specific allegations suggested that employees at this location had direct knowledge of and disregarded clear signs of trafficking.

This decision highlights how harsh the strict application of the Michigan sex abuse statute of limitations can be. Most of the plaintiff’s claims were dismissed because they fell outside the ten-year window prior to the lawsuit’s filing. Thankfully, the remaining claim against Fairfield Inn & Suites can proceed.