Delay persists for the majority of New York Child Victims Act claims, five years on.
In 2019, James Manfredonia and his ex-Little League teammates thought they'd finally have the chance to confront their accused abuser when they brought a lawsuit against him under the New York Child Victims Act. Three years later, they still wait for a trial date, stuck in legal limbo.
The Sagona case is far from an exception. In the two years between 2019 and 2021, an astounding 10,783 lawsuits were filed under the Child Victims Act in New York, with claims of sexual abuse by teachers, coaches, priests, and other authority figures. Of these, 7,632 were assigned to judges - but only 2,052 were settled or resolved. The remaining cases are classified as "pending."
Manfredonia, 63, questions why the victims haven't received justice after all this time. "When the lawsuits started being filed, there was a lot of buzz and talk about how the victims would get justice," he said. "But no one seems to care. We're years down the road, and we're just waiting and waiting and waiting."
The Child Victims Act, passed by the New York Legislature in early 2019, abolished the statute of limitations for child abuse cases, allowing victims to sue their abusers regardless of when the abuse occurred. While it's unclear why the lawsuits are facing a legal bottleneck, there's plenty of blame-shifting about who's responsible.
Advocates argue that the logjam is partly due to a tiny number of judges managing all those cases and the state's lack of efforts to expedite proceedings. ongoing conflicts between major institutions - such as the Archdiocese of New York, accused of covering up systematic sex abuse - and their insurance companies over responsibility for large payouts have also delayed the cases.
Heather Cucolo, a law professor at the New York Law School, describes the situation as a familiar pattern. "The Legislature passes something to address a wrong. They say we're opening this window; we're supporting the victims. But the system put in place to speed things along isn't working, and no one's stepping up to implement necessary changes."
David Catalfamo, head of an advocacy group for victims, accuses the state of siding with big insurance companies at the expense of the victims they once pledged to protect. "The state hasn't intervened in these legal battles, abandoning the victims they once promised to support," he said.
Meanwhile, Judge Brad Hoylman-Sigal, who championed the passage of the Child Victims Act, is pushing a bill to increase the number of State Supreme Court judges. However, it's a long road before it becomes law.
Paying out claims isn't just an issue for large institutions. Smaller cases, like Manfredonia's lawsuit against his former coach Tony Sagona and the Great Kills Babe Ruth League, are also caught in limbo. Sagona, 74 and living in Boca Raton, Florida, hasn't been charged with a crime. His lawyer, Steve Goerke, insists Sagona "vehemently denies the allegations."
Manfredonia said, despite the delay, he doesn't regret filing the lawsuit. "The greatest benefit of sharing our story is that it's helped our families begin to understand why we are how we are," he said. "They can't really know what it's like, what we've been feeling and hiding all this time. But they can start to grasp our behavior and reactions, and that's a significant benefit."
- The group of lawsuits filed under the New York Child Victims Act against alleged abusers, such as coaches and priests, has been designated as "pending," with only a small fraction being settled or resolved as of 2021.
- Heather Cucolo, a law professor at the New York Law School, suggests that the bottleneck in resolving these lawsuits is due to a lack of systemic changes, despite the initial promise of justice for victims.
- David Catalfamo, head of an advocacy group for victims, accuses the state of favoring big insurance companies over victims, arguing that it has failed to intervene in legal battles concerning large payouts.
- Judge Brad Hoylman-Sigal, who supported the passage of the Child Victims Act, is pushing a bill to increase the number of State Supreme Court judges to speed up proceedings and resolve cases more efficiently.
- The delayed resolution of lawsuits, such as Manfredonia's against his former coach Tony Sagona, provides an opportunity for families to begin understanding the reasons behind their loved ones' actions and emotions, as sharing their stories can help them grasp their behavior and reactions.
