HIGHTOWER v. BISHOP OF SACRAMENTO
Filed on 8/31/06
CERTIFIED FOR PUBLICATION
IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA
SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT
DIVISION EIGHT
| THOMAS A. HIGHTOWER, Plaintiff and Appellant, v. ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP OF SACRAMENTO, Defendant and Respondent. | B182153 (Alameda County Super. Ct. JCCP No. 4359; Sacramento Super. Ct. No. 04AS01331) |
APPEAL from a judgment of the Alameda County Superior Court. Ronald M. Sabraw, Coordination Judge. Affirmed.
Thomas A. Hightower, in pro. per., for Plaintiff and Appellant.
Sweeney & Greene, James F. Sweeny, Stephen J. Green, Jr., and Stephen R. McCutcheon, for Defendant and Respondent.
____________________________
Plaintiff Thomas A. Hightower sued the Roman Catholic Bishop of Sacramento (the bishop) for sexual abuse allegedly committed on him by a Catholic priest in the early 1970's. Hightower appeals from the judgment entered after the trial court sustained without leave to amend the bishop's demurrers to the complaint because the statute of limitations had expired. We affirm.
FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY
Plaintiff Thomas A. Hightower sued the bishop based on allegations that he was lured into a life of sexual abuse at the hands of a priest, Mario Blanco, for a two-year period beginning in 1970 when Hightower was just 12 years old.[1] According to Hightower's first amended complaint, Blanco worked under the bishop's supervision and the bishop was aware of Blanco's behavior, but failed to take steps to protect Hightower or others.[2] Hightower also alleges that he was turned into a child molester himself as a result of the abuse, which otherwise shattered his life and those of his various wives and children. He is currently serving a state prison sentence of 30 years to life for child molestation.
Effective in 2003, the Legislature amended Code of Civil Procedure section 340.1 to revive time-barred claims against entities and others for failing to adequately safeguard children from sex abuse committed by their agents or employees. That amendment, which we discuss in detail below, gave plaintiffs until December 31, 2003 to file such an action. On that date, Hightower deposited in the prison mailbox a document for filing with the Sacramento Superior Court captioned â€
