No revival for Arkansas childhood sex abuse claims

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — An appeals court in Arkansas upheld the trial judge’s entry of summary judgment in favor of a pediatrician and church youth leader who was sued by four church members and patients who say the doctor sexually abused them when they were kids. The claims are barred by the three-year statute of limitations, and they are not preserved by a 2021 law’s “revival window” because the state supreme court has previously found that “a valid defense against a demand invalid in law” is a “vested right” of defendants that cannot be disturbed by the state Legislature.