San Francisco Clergy Sexual Abuse Attorney

How We Value a Clergy Sexual Abuse Case in California

The Archdiocese of San Francisco agreed to pay $395 million in 2026 to resolve clergy abuse claims brought by survivors across the Bay Area, one of the largest Catholic Church abuse settlements in California history. That settlement reflects a fundamental truth about civil cases against religious institutions: when decades of reassignment, cover-up, and institutional silence compound individual wrongdoing, the financial accountability can be profound. At Compass Law Group, our attorneys have recovered more than $250 million for survivors across California, and we bring that same rigorous, evidence-based approach to every clergy sexual abuse case we accept.

Valuing your case begins with a complete accounting of every loss you have suffered — and every loss you will continue to suffer. California law allows survivors to recover compensatory damages covering therapy and ongoing mental health treatment, past and future medical expenses, and lost earnings or diminished earning capacity. Emotional distress and pain and suffering add a separate, uncapped layer of recovery. When a diocese or religious organization knew or should have known about the abuse and failed to act, California Civil Code Section 3294 authorizes punitive damages that can dwarf the underlying compensatory award — though punitive damages are frequently addressed through the claims process in diocesan bankruptcy proceedings rather than a standalone jury verdict.

Under AB 218, survivors of childhood clergy abuse face no statute of limitations. Adult survivors have an additional pathway: the AB 2777 revival window, effective January 1, 2023, remains open only through December 31, 2026.

Compensatory Damages: Calculating the True Cost

Compensatory damages in a California clergy abuse case divide into two categories: economic and non-economic. Economic damages are calculable losses supported by documentary evidence. Non-economic damages reflect harms that resist a simple dollar figure but are fully compensable under California law.

• Past and future therapy costs — Trauma-focused therapy, EMDR, and psychiatric care projected across a survivor’s lifetime by forensic economists.
• Medical expenses — Any treatment required as a direct result of the abuse.
• Lost wages and income — Time lost during disclosure, depositions, trial, or due to lasting trauma responses that impair consistent employment.
• Lost earning capacity — When abuse causes long-term psychological impairment that reduces a survivor’s ability to work at full capacity.

Non-Economic Damages and the Diocesan Claims Process

California places no cap on non-economic damages in sexual abuse civil cases outside of bankruptcy. When a diocese has filed for Chapter 11 protection — as several California dioceses have in response to the volume of AB 2777 claims — survivors file proofs of claim through a court-supervised process instead of an individual jury trial. A survivor’s attorney remains essential in this process to document the severity of the abuse, its lasting impact, and the institution’s pattern of prior knowledge, all of which directly affect the claim’s valuation within the settlement trust.

AB 218 and AB 2777: California’s Expanded Recovery Windows

AB 218 (2019) eliminated the statute of limitations entirely for civil claims involving childhood sexual abuse — the majority of clergy abuse claims, since most documented clergy abuse involved child victims. There is no filing deadline.

AB 2777 (2022) created a limited revival window for adult survivors. This revival window closes permanently on December 31, 2026. Survivors who have not yet spoken with an attorney are working against a hard statutory deadline, and against the practical reality that diocesan bankruptcy claims deadlines can close even sooner than the statutory window.

How Compass Law Group Builds and Maximizes Case Value

“Clergy abuse cases often require us to prove a decades-long pattern of reassignment and cover-up that the diocese never wanted documented,” says a Compass Law Group senior attorney. “We investigate personnel files, secret archive records, and prior settlements to establish exactly what the diocese knew and when.”

Our case valuation methodology reflects more than $250 million in California recoveries and includes the following:

• Full diocesan personnel record review — We pursue clergy personnel files, prior complaint records, and reassignment histories through litigation discovery or the bankruptcy claims process.
• Forensic expert retention at intake — We retain psychiatric experts and forensic economists before the first demand or claim is filed.
• Institutional investigation — We identify every parish, school, and diocesan program where the abuser had access to children, often revealing additional survivors and additional evidence of institutional knowledge.
• Bankruptcy claims expertise — When a diocese has filed for Chapter 11, we file proofs of claim, participate in the survivor committee process, and advocate for maximum trust distribution on your behalf.
• Punitive damages analysis from day one — Where applicable outside of bankruptcy, we build the punitive damages case in parallel with compensatory damages from the moment of intake.

If you were abused by a priest, pastor, or any religious leader in California, you are entitled to a full, confidential accounting of what your case may be worth and what California law allows you to recover. The AB 2777 revival window closes December 31, 2026. Contact our San Francisco office today for a free, confidential consultation.