Q: Are there circumstances that would allow a victim of child sexual assault to file a lawsuit after signing a release and
receiving payment in a out of court compensation program the defendant setup to cutoff potential lawsuits that were likely to be filed because of pending legislation that would revive statutes of limitations for past actions that were known to exist but barred because complaints were not filed in time? I accepted 200k by a defendant who after 30+ years reached out with a compensation offer just as the opportunity to sue in court became available . The defendant absolutely claimed it was attempting to repair damage and acted as if it was sincere reconciliation rather than a strategy to buyout the potential lawsuit at a fraction of the price a civil claim would receive. At this moment the average settlement in these matters is 1.5 million and average jury verdict is 18 million involving the actions by the same defendants and I have been told my case is better than 80% of any of the relevant cases by more than one lawyer to be perfectly clear. Could a timely suit be filed?
A:
Likely not, but you need to have a personal injury attorney who specializes in sexual assault of minor cases look at the circumstances of the release. There are situations where releases can be set aside, but they are rare and narrow.
Good luck to you.
A:
First, you need to have a lawyer read the settlement agreement that you signed as part of the Court compensation fund. If you have released your claims, you may not be able to file a lawsuit.
Second, assuming the release does not preclude you from filing a lawsuit, you need a lawyer to make sure your claims are not barred by the statute of limitations as currently written.
A: It really depends on the plain language of the Settlement/Release. Most likely that it was drafted to prevent what you now would like to do. The courts honor agreements like yours but there may be some wiggle room although the odds are not in your favor.
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