By Laura Ernde
The Los Angeles Daily Journal
November 2, 2007
The California Supreme Court on Thursday ended a four-year battle to bring a sexual abuse lawsuit against the Los Angeles Police Department and the Boy Scouts.
Since there was no evidence that authorities knew about the alleged abuse back in the 1970s, they can not now be held liable, the high court said in a unanimous decision.
Three men claim that David J. Kalish, a former high-ranking official with the police department, abused them as teenagers in the Explorer Scout program.
The men filed suit in 2003 during a one-year revival period created by the Legislature to help adult victims of child sexual abuse by Catholic priests.
Plaintiffs' lawyers uncovered evidence that Kalish drank with the teenagers and had them do chores at his house, which should have set off alarm bells that something was amiss, they argued.
But the state Supreme Court, upholding decisions by two lower courts, said the allegations were not sufficient to sue under the revival statute.
"That plaintiffs had knowledge or notice of misconduct by Kalish that created a risk of sexual exploitation is not enough under the express terms of the statute," Justice Carlos R. Moreno wrote for the court.
The city and the Boy Scouts applauded the ruling.
"We're pleased with the ruling in the city's favor and we'll continue to look at the ruling and see how it affects us going forward," said Frank Mateljan, a spokesman for the city attorney's office.
Thomas Delaney in the Irvine office of Sedgwick, Detert, Moran & Arnold said the court made the right decision.
"Sedgwick lawyers, including myself, have handled many of these cases over many years, both before and after the language interpreted today by the Supreme Court was added to the statute of limitations in 2002," Delaney said.
"We are sympathetic to children who have been sexually molested. But the language the Supreme Court interpreted today deals only with claims brought long after the events, and only with claims brought against persons other than the actual molester. The fairness of bringing those kind of claims, many years after the event, has to be balanced against the opportunity of an adult to seek compensation after waiting many years."
Plaintiff's lawyer David M. Ring of Taylor & Ring in Los Angeles said he respects the court's decision but fears it puts an unfair burden on plaintiffs to come up with evidence even before the discovery stage of the suit.
Ring said his clients believe the legal battle has been worthwhile.
"Even though they lost, I still think it gave them a lot of closure," Ring said. "It was cathartic for them to have someone hear their story, especially the Supreme Court."
By the time the scandal broke, Kalish had risen to the rank of deputy chief, making him the highest-ranking openly gay officer in the department.
He has since retired and has consistently denied the charges.
Ring said Thursday's decision does not necessarily put an end to a separate lawsuit against Kalish, which has been on hold.
