Catholic Church loses fight to block legal action from abuse victims’ loved ones

Melbourne’s Catholic Church has lost a major legal fight to block the family and friends of abuse victims from suing for damages.

Melbourne’s Catholic church has lost a major legal fight to block the parents, siblings, friends and families of abuse victims from suing for damages.

In a landmark decision legal experts have warned will “open the floodgates” for psychological injury claims in Victoria, the High Court on Thursday refused the Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne leave to appeal a Supreme Court ruling enabling “secondary” victims from seeking damages.

In its ruling last year the Supreme Court found that Victoria’s Legal Identity of Defendants (Organisational Child Abuse) Act 2018 – which was introduced by the Andrews government to quash a legal loophole known as the Ellis defence, which prevented child abuse survivors from suing some organisations for their abuse – extended to claims brought against unincorporated organisations by persons who were not themselves victims of alleged child abuse.

Legal experts have warned the High Court decision will now “open the floodgates” for “secondary” victims to seek damages against a range of organisations for psychological injury.

They could include the state government, WorkSafe, the TAC, schools, clubs, kinders, religious organisations and social and cultural groups.

Legal experts have warned the High Court decision will now ‘open the floodgates’ for ‘secondary’ victims to seek damages against a range of organisations..

It also clears the way for a claim brought by the father of a dead former choirboy who claims his son was assaulted by Cardinal George Pell.

He is seeking damages for mental harm suffered as a result of being informed of the alleged abuse of his late son and by reason of his son’s death.

Pell was convicted, then acquitted, of abusing the choirboy, who cannot be identified.

The former choirboy died of a heroin overdose in 2014 having never disclosed allegations of abuse to his parents or authorities.

Shine Lawyers Chief Legal Officer, Lisa Flynn, welcomed the decision.

“We have maintained from the outset that the Catholic Church can be held liable for the pain and suffering our client has endured as a result of the alleged abuse of his now deceased son,” she said.

“The church has made considerable efforts to exploit the legal system to extricate itself from these proceedings, and we are glad to see another loophole closed.

“The time, energy and resources the church has deployed in trying to avoid these proceedings would have been better directed at delivering meaningful outcomes to those whose lives have been destroyed.

“This is a monumental outcome, not only for victim-survivors, but their families and loved ones who themselves suffer considerable trauma as a result of the evil acts perpetrated by members of the church. They too deserve compensation in recognition of their trauma.”

A spokesman for Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne said it would consider the implications of the decision in the coming days.