Personal Injury Sex Abuse-Limitations
The Virginia Supreme Court in the 2025 decision of Doe v. Green, 2025 Va. LEXIS 58 addresses the issue of the statute of limitations in sex abuse cases.
Green involves a suit filed in 2021 by a woman who claimed that at age 14, a 33 year-old male had begun a sexual relationship with her. The relationship began in 2005. In her Complaint, she expressly states that she was aware of the injurious nature of the relationship.
There have been a number of changes to the statute of limitations related to sex abuse claims. Most of them deal with the issue of when the action accrues.
One question that arose was whether Va. Code § 8.01-249(6) that was in effect in 2005 tolled the statute of limitations for injuries resulting from sex abuse when the victim knew of the fact of the injury and its causal connection to the sex abuse before reaching the age of majority. That involved an issue of whether that statute applied retroactively i.e., did it apply to causes of action that existed before the enactment.
The Supreme Court noted that although the General Assembly had the authority to make those changes in the accrual statute retroactive, it had not done so in this instance.
Personal Injury Sex Abuse-Limitations-Va Code 8.01-1
Va. Code § 8.01-1 may have applied, although the plaintiff did not raise that before the trial court or in a timely fashion before the Court of Appeals.
Va. Code § 8.01-1 states that all changes to Title 8.01 apply to existing causes of action i.e., causes of action that existed before the effective date of the statute unless the change materially changes the substantive rights of the party as opposed to the procedural rights or otherwise causes a miscarriage of justice.
Historically a person’s right to be protected by the statute of limitations is considered to be a substantive right. Any change in that must be expressly stated in the statutory change. If it is not then it probably does not apply to the pre-existing cause of action.
The importance of Va. Code § 8.01-1 cannot be overemphasized. The statute alone does not change the law. What it does do however is re-emphasize the fact that statutory changes in some instances may be retroactive unless they change the substantive rights of a party.
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For more information on limitations see:
personal injury limitations
relation back
limitation safe harbors
