David Schultz of our New York office obtained a pre-answer dismissal of a lawsuit against the County of Westchester brought under the Child Victims Act. In the complaint, plaintiff alleged that, while a minor, he was engaged in an inappropriate sexual relationship with an employee of the agency that oversaw his foster care. In the aftermath of the relationship being exposed, the foster care agency’s employee was convicted of third-degree rape with a victim under the age of 17. In obtaining the early dismissal, we successfully argued that, notwithstanding the extraordinary leeway afforded to plaintiffs under the Child Victims Act to revive claims on which the statute of limitations would have otherwise run, the complaint must still plead facts that articulate a viable cause of action upon which relief can be granted. After demonstrating that plaintiff’s allegations, even if proven, failed to establish a sustainable claim against the municipality, the court granted our motion, dismissing our client from the case before it could become embroiled in lengthy and expensive discovery proceedings.
