Care Required in Raising Affirmative Defenses
“Cardinal Law, in Lawsuit, Faults Child and Parents in Abuse Case.” That was the headline of a Fox News Article on April 29, 2002. The headline was driven by nothing more than a boilerplate affirmative defense in an answer filed on behalf of Cardinal Bernard Francis Law and the Archdiocese of Boston in a lawsuit brought by a person alleging that he was abused as a child by a priest. The lawyers who filed the answer alleged that the “negligence of the plaintiffs contributed to cause the injury or the damage” and that any damages assessed against Cardinal Law “should…