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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DISTRICT OF MASSACHUSETTS _______________________________________ TIMOTHY CLARK, Plaintiff, v. RICHARD B. EDISON, Defendant. ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) )

Civil Action No. 09-40040-FDS

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER ON MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT SAYLOR, J. This is a civil lawsuit based on an alleged sexual abuse of a minor that plaintiff contends occurred nearly forty years ago. Jurisdiction is based on diversity of citizenship. Plaintiff Timothy Clark alleges that he was sexually abused by defendant Richard Edison repeatedly between 1974 and 1977. He did not, however, bring suit until November 2008. He contends that he repressed any memory of the experience until 2008, when memories of the abuse suddenly returned to him while he was visiting his mother's grave with his brother. Defendant has moved for summary judgment on the ground that the action is barred by the applicable statute of limitations. For the following reasons, the motion will be denied. I. Background The facts are set forth in the light most favorable to plaintiff, the non-moving party, except where otherwise noted. Timothy Clark was born in 1963. After his parents divorced, Timothy lived with his

mother and his two brothers, Michael and David Clark. In 1974, when he was ten years old, the Clarks lived in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, in an apartment complex known as Shrewsbury Gardens. Richard Edison also resided at Shrewsbury Gardens in 1974. At the time, he was a student at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. The Clark brothers knew Edison and would visit his apartment and listen to music with him. Their mother believed Edison was a child molester and attempted to prevent her children from spending time him. However, the boys continued to associate with Edison. Edison allegedly provided the children with marijuana and would take Timothy into his bedroom, alone, where he sexually abused him. On certain occasions, Michael was present in the other room while those events occurred. Their mother frequently urged Michael to prevent Timothy from being near Edison, but Michael disobeyed his mother, in part to ensure his continued access to marijuana. In 1975, the Clark family moved to an apartment in a complex known as Brandywine Village. Edison also moved to Brandywine Village during that year, and the Clark children continued to visit him there despite their mother's objection. Edison allegedly continued to abuse him sexually during that period, and that their mother frequently scolded the children for visiting Edison and sought to prevent him from having any contact with them. At an unspecified time, the Clark family moved to a new apartment at Lincoln Village in Worcester, Massachusetts. On one occasion, Timothy and his friend Howard Gallant skipped school to visit Edison. Their parents learned of these events, and, in early 1977, filed a "disturbing the peace" complaint against Edison in the Massachusetts District Court. Timothy 2

went to court with his mother for a hearing on that matter, but he was taken outside of the courtroom for much of the proceeding. The action was dismissed, and no criminal charges were brought. The Court, however, ordered Edison to cease his interactions with the Clark and Gallant children. Timothy Clark had no further contact with Edison. According to Clark, for most of his adult life he retained no memory of the sexual abuse he suffered in those years. However, in May 2008, he experienced a sudden flood of memories while visiting his mother's grave with his brother Michael. These memories included episodic visions of his interactions with Edison, including memories of explicit sexual contact. In the months following that experience, Clark suffered severe emotional reactions to the memories. He received psychological treatment from Erik D. Nelson, who identified symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder that he believes derive from childhood sexual abuse.1 Edison left Massachusetts in the late 1970s; he currently resides in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. In 2008, Clark hired a private investigator to locate him, which he did without difficulty. On November 24, 2008, Clark filed this action in the Massachusetts Superior Court. Edison removed the case to this Court on the basis of diversity jurisdiction. Edison has now moved for summary judgment that the action is time-barred under the applicable statute of limitations. II. Standard of Review Summary judgment is appropriate when the moving party shows that "there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a). "Essentially, Rule 56[] mandates the entry of summary judgment `against a party

In preparation for this litigation, counsel for Clark also retained Dr. James W. Hopper, a clinical psychologist, who evaluated Clark's recollections of childhood abuse and related psychological conditions.

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who fails to make a showing sufficient to establish the existence of an element essential to that party's case, and on which that party will bear the burden of proof at trial.'" Coll v. PB Diagnostic Sys., 50 F.3d 1115, 1121 (1st Cir. 1995) (quoting Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322 (1986)). In making that determination, the Court views "the record in the light most favorable to the nonmovant, drawing reasonable inferences in his favor." Noonan v. Staples, Inc., 556 F.3d 20, 25 (1st Cir. 2009). III. Analysis In Massachusetts, an action for assault and battery alleging sexual abuse of a minor is generally subject to a three-year limitations period. Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 260,

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