Congratulations to Keri Wehrheim for successfully securing an important procedural win before the Appellate Division, Second Department. This decision reaffirms the rigorous standards of the relation-back doctrine and the necessity of timely notice for new defendants in Child Victims Act (CVA) cases. The ruling was rendered by Hon. Hector D. LaSalle, Hon. Angela G. Iannacci, Hon. William G. Ford, and Hon. Helen Voutsinas.
This case arose from allegations of sexual abuse in 1989 while the plaintiff was placed in a foster home by the Nassau County Social Services Department. The plaintiff, suing under the CVA, later sought to amend the complaint in 2023 to add SCO Family of Services (SCO), alleging that the organization had accredited the foster home where the abuse occurred. SCO was brought into the case as a third-party defendant by Nassau County but was not named as a defendant by the plaintiff until after the CVA’s revival period expired. The plaintiff argued that the relation-back doctrine allowed her to add SCO as a defendant after the statute of limitations expired.
The court affirmed the denial of the plaintiff’s motion to amend, holding that the plaintiff failed to meet the third prong of the relation-back doctrine. Specifically, the record lacked evidence that SCO had notice of the plaintiff’s CVA action against Nassau County before the statute of limitations expired. Without such notice, SCO could not reasonably anticipate being named as a defendant, and thus, the relation-back doctrine could not apply.
This victory demonstrates Keri’s precision in navigating procedural defenses, ensuring our client was shielded from untimely and prejudicial claims, and the decision highlights the importance of meeting each element of the relation-back doctrine.
