Virginia Legislature Votes to Change Civil Statute of Limitations for Sexual Abuse Claims

The Virginia legislature has passed, and Governor McDonnell has signed, an amendment to the Virginia Code that will extend the statute of limitations for personal injury claims resulting from childhood sexual abuse from 2 years from the date of accrual, to 20 years from the date of the accrual.

The bill, which amends Virginia Code § 8.01-243, was originally introduced with the intention of extending the limitations period to 25 years. After significant resistance from various interests groups, headed by the Virginia Catholic Conference which wanted the limitations period extended to only 8 years, a compromise was reached at 20 years. Both the House and the Senate passed the measure unanimously. Governor Bob McDonnell signed the bill on March 28, 2011.

The bill's effective date is July 1, 2011. In practice, this means that if July 1, 2011 is 2 years and 1 day after accrual of a claim, that claim is time-barred. However, if July 1, 2011 is 1 year and 364 days after accrual of a claim, the limitations period for that claim is extended to 20 years.