In Fleming v. Amateur Athletic Union of the United States, Inc. (2023 WI 40), the Wisconsin Supreme Court held that an extended statute of limitations did not apply to a negligence claim.

Facts

Between 1997 and 2000, Fleming participated in a youth basketball program affiliated with the Amateur Athletic Union of the United States (AAU). Kingcade, an AAU member who coached for the basketball program, was later convicted of sexually assaulting Fleming multiple times while she participated in the program. Following Kingcade’s conviction, Fleming filed suit against AAU, alleging that the organization negligently hired, retained, and supervised Kingcade.

Decision

In a 4-3 decision (Chief Justice Ziegler, joined by Justices R. Bradley, Hagedorn, and Roggensack), the court held that Fleming’s claim was barred by the three-year statute of limitations for negligence claims. Fleming argued that her claim was timely filed because Wis. Stat. § 893.587 allows a claimant until the age of 35 to file an “action to recover damages for injury caused by an act that would constitute a violation of” certain crimes against children. The court found that Fleming’s claim was not for an injury caused by a criminal violation, but by AAU’s negligence. Therefore, “the governing time limit is instead the three-year statute of limitations under Wis. Stat. § 893.54.”

Dissent

In a dissent, Justice Karofsky (joined by Justices Walsh Bradley and Dallet) argued that Fleming’s claim “requires her to prove that the following two acts caused her injury: (1) the AAU negligently hired and supervised Kingcade; and (2) Kingcade sexually assaulted her when she was a child.” According to the dissent, because Fleming’s claim was that AAU’s negligence led to the criminal violation against her, the extended statute of limitations for crimes against children under Wis. Stat. § 893.587 should have applied to Fleming’s claim.