Survivors of sexual abuse in California can bring civil claims not only against the person who committed the abuse but also against the organization connected to it, such as a school, church, youth program, foster care agency or treatment facility. A California institutional sexual abuse lawyer handles those claims against the institution itself.
Many people who come to this page are weighing questions they have carried for a long time: whether an organization that should have protected them can be held responsible, whether it is too late, and whether anyone will need to hear the details. Justice for Survivors represents survivors of childhood and adult abuse throughout California, and a first confidential conversation requires no description of what happened. The sections below explain how these claims work, what the deadlines look like, and what the process involves.
What 'Institutional' Sexual Abuse Means Under California Law
Abuse becomes "institutional" in the legal sense when an organization had authority over the survivor, or over the person who caused harm, and that organization's own conduct contributed to what happened. Typically the organization employed or placed the abuser, failed to supervise them, ignored warning signs, or concealed earlier complaints.
That distinction matters because it changes who can be named as a defendant. California law allows a claim against the individual who committed the abuse, and also against "any person or entity who owed a duty of care to the plaintiff, if a wrongful or negligent act by that person or entity was a legal cause" of the abuse (Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 340.1(a)(2)). The institution can be responsible for its own failures, separately from the abuser's acts.
The theories most often involved are:
- Negligent hiring and retention. The organization hired or kept someone it knew, or should have known, was unfit to be around the people in its care.
- Negligent supervision. In plain terms, the organization failed to watch over its staff, volunteers or the setting closely enough to prevent foreseeable harm.
- Failure to protect. An organization responsible for a child or vulnerable adult did not take reasonable steps to keep that person safe.
- Respondeat superior. A Latin phrase meaning "let the superior answer," it is the rule that an employer can be responsible for what an employee does on the job. California courts often find that sexual misconduct falls outside the scope of employment, which is why the negligence theories above usually carry institutional claims.
A longer explanation is in our guide to institutional sexual abuse in California.
California's Statute of Limitations for Institutional Abuse Claims
Abuse that happened before age 18. For abuse occurring on or after January 1, 2024, § 340.1, as amended by AB 452, provides that "there is no time limit" for a civil action, against either the abuser or an institution. That change applies only to abuse on and after that date. It did not revive older claims.
For abuse that occurred on or before December 31, 2023, the law as it read on that date still governs. Under that rule, a survivor generally has until age 40, or five years from discovering that an injury was caused by the abuse, whichever is later. A plaintiff who files at 40 or older must also file certificates of merit, signed by the attorney and a licensed mental health practitioner, before defendants are served (§ 340.1(e)-(h)).
AB 218, passed in 2019, also opened a three-year window for claims that were already too late. That window closed December 31, 2022.
The discovery rule. "Discovery" means the point when a survivor first understands, or reasonably should have understood, that a later injury, such as depression, anxiety or other harm, was caused by the abuse.
Abuse that happened at 18 or older. Under § 340.16(a), an adult survivor of sexual assault generally has the later of 10 years from the last act, or three years from discovering that an injury resulted from it. Section 340.16(b)(3) also revived adult claims based on conduct on or after January 1, 2009 that would otherwise be too late; those claims may be filed until December 31, 2026. The only claims it does not revive are those litigated to finality, or settled in a written agreement, before January 1, 2023. A further, separate window was later added to the same section, running from January 1, 2026 through December 31, 2027; it does not apply to claims against public entities.
Cover-up. For childhood abuse, § 340.1(b) defines a "cover up" as "a concerted effort to hide evidence relating to childhood sexual assault," and allows a survivor who proves it to recover up to three times their damages against the defendant who covered it up.
Public schools and other government defendants. For childhood abuse claims against a local public entity, such as a school district, California generally does not require the survivor to first submit a formal government claim before filing suit. Claims against the State follow different rules, and for abuse before 2024 the answer can differ.
These rules are fact-specific. A deeper treatment is in our guide to the California sexual abuse statute of limitations.
How a Civil Claim Differs from a Criminal Case
A civil lawsuit is brought by the survivor, who is called the plaintiff, not by a prosecutor. California's adult sexual assault statute says expressly that no criminal prosecution is needed, and that a prosecution that did not end in a conviction does not prevent a civil claim (§ 340.16(b)(2)).
The standard of proof is different too. A criminal case requires proof "beyond a reasonable doubt." A civil case requires proof by a "preponderance of the evidence," which means more likely than not.
The remedies differ as well:
- Compensatory damages are money meant to make up for harm. They include economic losses, such as therapy and medical costs and lost income, and non-economic losses, such as emotional distress.
- Punitive damages are an additional award meant to punish serious misconduct. Under Cal. Civ. Code § 3294, they require clear and convincing proof of "oppression, fraud, or malice." Against an employer, they generally require that an officer, director or managing agent knew of the employee's unfitness and acted with conscious disregard for others' safety, or authorized or ratified the conduct.
In a civil case, the survivor decides whether to settle, go to trial, or resolve the matter privately. More on the differences is in our article on civil vs. criminal sexual abuse cases.
How Justice for Survivors Approaches These Cases
The practice is civil litigation on behalf of survivors, with a focus on claims against institutions. A first conversation is about the legal questions: roughly when the abuse occurred, the survivor's age at the time, and what kind of organization was involved. No one is asked to recount what happened in order to find out whether a claim may exist. Much of the work of building a case comes from records, not from the survivor retelling events.
There are also things the firm does not do:
- It handles civil claims only. It does not provide criminal defense.
- It handles California matters only. Claims arising in other states are outside its practice.
- Workplace harassment claims that do not involve sexual assault are a separate area of employment law and are referred elsewhere.
- It is not a crisis or safety-planning service. Someone who needs immediate support can contact RAINN at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or a local California rape crisis center through CALCASA, before or alongside any legal conversation.