Legal Expert and Advocate Applauds NJ Law that Allows Sex Abuse Survivors to Seek Justice

Newark, NJ – Legal expert and advocate Stephen A. Weiss of NJ-based Seeger Weiss LLP today applauded Governor Murphy for signing a New Jersey law (S477) that significantly extends the statute of limitations for survivors of sex abuse. The new law also creates a two-year window to file cases for which the statute of limitations had previously expired.

“For too long big and powerful institutions like the Catholic Church and Boy Scouts of America seemed untouchable – many knew they allowed and covered up abuse, but it was difficult to hold them accountable. That ends now,” said Weiss. “By the time survivors of abuse are ready to come forward it is often too late to do anything about it in the courts. That’s not the case anymore thanks to the new law signed in New Jersey today. Now, all survivors of sexual abuse in our state have two years to seek the justice they deserve.”

Weiss represents over a dozen survivors of sexual abuse in New Jersey who will benefit from the new law signed by Governor Murphy. He and his colleagues also represent more than 100 survivors in New York who benefit from the Child Victims Act recently signed in February, and about 300 sex abuse survivors nationwide. More than 20 states across the U.S., including Pennsylvania and Connecticut, are considering legislation to extend the statute of limitations and give survivors the ability to pursue claims against their abusers and hold the institutions that turned a blind eye to abuse accountable.

Stephen A. Weiss is a founding partner of Seeger Weiss LLP and longtime advocate for survivors of sexual abuse. His expansive history as a litigator ranges from high-profile multidistrict litigations and arbitrations to private business disputes spanning a broad array of legal disciplines, including qui tam/whistleblower, consumer products, insurance, agricultural, environmental, securities, employment and property rights litigation.