JPML Declines to Consolidate Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints Sexual Assault Lawsuits

Nearly 50 child sexual abuse lawsuits against the church will continue as individual claims, without centralized discovery or pretrial proceedings.

A panel of federal judges has rejected a request to consolidate all child sexual abuse lawsuits filed against the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints into a multidistrict litigation (MDL), indicating that the claims against the Mormon church involve unique case-specific facts, which do not lend themselves to consolidation.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints has approximately 6.8 million members throughout the United States, and operates as one of the wealthiest private organizations in the world.

There are currently at least 50 lawsuits against the Mormon church pending in U.S. District Courts nationwide, each raising similar allegations that the organization was aware of incidents of child sexual abuse by employees and volunteers for decades, but chose to cover up for the abusers, instead of defending its most vulnerable members.

In early February, a group of plaintiffs filed a motion to establish a Mormon church sex abuse lawsuit MDL, requesting that all claims brought against the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints be centralized in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, where at least 27 of the current actions have been filed. 

Although child sexual abuse attorneys expect that hundreds of additional claims will be brought in dozens of other federal district courts over the next few years, the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) issued an order denying transfer (PDF) on April 3, rejecting consolidation at this time.

“On the basis of the papers filed and the hearing session held, we conclude that centralization is not necessary for the convenience of the parties and witnesses or to further the just and efficient conduct of the litigation,” the panel ruled, saying the cases were far too varied for consolidation.

The JPML noted that the cases spanned decades, with the alleged perpetrators having different connections with the church, from clergy to missionaries, teachers and even family members. The panel also noted that the cases are spread over decades, adding additional variables.

“The actions here involve abuse that allegedly occurred over more than five decades, from 1968 to 2023,” the order states. “The Church’s policy on reporting and investigating sexual abuse undoubtedly changed over this period.”

Since the JPML has rejected the transfer motion, all child sexual abuse lawsuits filed against the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints will continue on as separate lawsuits handled individually by federal courts nationwide.