The lawsuit filed by Victim 6 from the Jerry Sandusky case will be allowed to proceed, a federal judge in Philadelphia said Monday.
Judge Anita B. Brody denied Penn State’s and The Second Mile’s request to stay the lawsuit filed by the young man Sandusky forced to shower with him in a campus shower in 1998.
The decision was the first stay Penn State has lost on a civil suit from an abuse claimant.
In her court order, Brody said she ruled against the university and the charity because the young man “has already waited a long time for justice and would be burdened with further delay.”
But Brody denied it without prejudice, saying Penn State and The Second Mile can raise their issues in the request for a stay “if and when they are more imminent.” Brody said that was meant to balance the interests of both sides.
The lawyers for the sides were scheduled for a hearing Tuesday in Philadelphia, but last week, the judge canceled it.
Lawyers for Victim 6 sued Penn State, The Second Mile and Sandusky in federal court in January, and Penn State’s lawyers asked for the stay, saying their defense would be hurt without the testimonies of former university officials Tim Curley and Gary Schultz.
The young man was called John Doe 6 in the suit and was referenced as Victim 6 in a grand jury presentment against Sandusky.
Penn State’s lawyers said they would not expect Curley and Schultz, who face perjury, obstruction and related charges, to cooperate. The university and The Second Mile asked for the lawsuit to be stayed until the prosecutions were done.
But the lawyer for Victim 6 fought back, arguing his client “suffered a delay of justice of more than a decade” and urged the judge to allow them to proceed to the discovery phase of the lawsuit.
A spokesman for Penn State declined to comment.
Centredaily.com