Former Care Home Residents Barred From Taking Action Over Abuse

Alleged victims of abuse by nuns at a Scots children’s home have been barred from taking court action for damages by a House of Lords judgment yesterday.

Five Law Lords ruled that two of those seeking £50,000 in compensation had left it too long to claim for what they said they suffered at Nazareth House at Cardonald in Glasgow.

Two women and a man originally launched the claims, saying they were beaten and abused by nuns belonging to a religious order known as the Poor Sisters of Nazareth.

Two of the three took the case to the House of Lords after a judge at the Court of Session ruled the claims were time-barred.

But the Law Lords ruled that Judge Lord Drummond Young was correct to rule that it was too late to hold a fair trial – the abuse complained of dated back by up to more than 40 years. Lord Hope of Craighead, who gave the lead judgment, said the allegations were grave and there were several hundred others seeking compensation against the order.

“The way the issue of time bar is disposed of in their cases is likely to affect the many others that remain in the pipeline.”

He said he agreed with Lord Drummond Young’s conclusion that the prejudice caused to the nuns by the lapse of time in raising the proceedings, including the loss of evidence, was by itself a sufficient reason for not allowing the actions to go ahead.

Both the women claimed they were regularly assaulted and subjected to cruel punishments resulting in psychological or psychiatric illness which had caused them problems in their adult lives leading to financial loss. The religious order denied any abuse at the children’s home, which no longer exists.

The alleged abuse was highlighted in a series of newspaper articles in 1997, up to three decades after they left Nazareth House, but it was only then that they consulted solicitors to claim damages.

One woman was a resident from about 1966, when she was three years old and the other was at the children’s home from 1961 when she was eight. Both left when they were 16.

Under the law of limitation, a person must begin court action three years after they reach the age of 18, save in special circumstances.

The cases looked at were between 10 and 25 years out of the legal time limit for making a claim.

Solicitor Cameron Fyfe, acting for the two women who took their case to the House of Lords, said the judgment could have implications for others who claimed to have been abused as children.

He is acting on behalf of about 1000 alleged victims of abuse at various children’s homes and orphanages.

Mr Fyfe said: “The clients are understandably disappointed by this decision. I have advised them that the House of Lords is the highest court in the land and has the final say.

“Unfortunately, this means we can proceed no further with most of the historical child abuse cases we are handling.”

In October 2006, 16 Nazareth House residents won a total of nearly £24,000 compensation for abuse they say was inflicted by their carers. The eight men and eight women were awarded between £1000 and £2600 each after a series of Criminal Injuries Compensation Appeal hearings in Glasgow.