No compensation claim for alleged abuse victims
House of Lords back Court of Session judgment that too much time has elapsed
Law lords have prevented the victims of alleged abuse at a children's home in Glasgow from claiming compensation.
A House of Lords judgment yesterday means that two of the three people seeking £50,000 left it too long to claim damages for the abuse they claim to have suffered at Nazareth House in Cardonald. Two women and a man claimed to have been beaten and abused by nuns working at the home when they lived there in the 1960s.
The Court of Session had already ruled that the claims were time barred and the House of Lords backed this decision yesterday, agreeing with Lord Drummond Young that it was too late for a fair trial because of the time that had elapsed since the alleged abuse took place.
Under the law of limitation, a person must launch an action within three years of reaching the age of 18, except in special circumstances.
Lawyer Cameron Fyfe, who acted for the two women who took the case to the House of Lords, said they were understandably disappointed with the result.
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