The Maryland Supreme Court on Monday upheld a landmark state law that eliminates all time limits for people to file lawsuits over child sexual abuse, making it easier for survivors to sue institutions that enabled their abuse.

With a 4-3 vote, the state’s highest court found the Child Victims Act of 2023 to be constitutional, overcoming a key question about whether the act ran afoul of a 2017 state law that extended the deadline for survivors to sue.

The controversial law went into effect on Oct. 1, 2023.

People have sued schools, churches and state-run juvenile detention centers. Before the law became effective, the Archdiocese of Baltimore filed for bankruptcy, citing an expected flood of lawsuits. The court’s ruling clears an obstacle for survivors across Maryland to sue over old instances of child sexual abuse.

Plaintiff’s attorneys applauded the ruling.

“This historic decision ensures that all survivors of child sexual abuse in Maryland can no longer be denied access to justice or to a jury trial based on their age or the amount of time that has elapsed since they were abused,” attorney Rob Jenner said. He helped fight for the Child Victims Act of 2023 and represents survivors across Maryland.

“Today’s ruling brings renewed hope to those who suffered in silence,” he said. “We are deeply honored to represent these courageous survivors and are grateful to their families and advocates for their relentless fight over many decades.”

Opponents of the Child Victims Act had argued that the 2017 law also established a “statute of repose,” an obscure legal concept that granted institutions immunity after a particular deadline — a “vested right” to immunity that could not be revoked.

The state’s highest court rejected the idea, saying it was an “ordinary statute of limitations, the expiration of which did not give rise to a vested right to be free of liability.”

In the dissenting opinion, justices found the 2017 law had in fact established the statue of repose and the vested right to immunity.

Legal experts could find only one other example of a statute of repose in Maryland law, in construction liability.

“I’m absolutely thrilled that the Supreme Court ruled that we are not a piece of defective construction material and instead we’re really human beings,” said David Lorenz, who leads the Maryland chapter of Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, or SNAP.

Lawsuits against the Archdiocese of Baltimore remain frozen by the church’s ongoing bankruptcy, but the decision allows new cases to proceed against schools, juvenile detention centers and other institutions that had turned a blind eye to instances of child sexual abuse.

Lorenz and other supporters have long argued that the Child Victims Act isn’t just about money, but about giving survivors the chance to be heard in open court and allowing for the discovery of evidence that would expose abusers and their enablers.

Thousands of people have sued the state for damages arising from child sexual abuse they endured while in state care, mainly in the juvenile justice system. And state officials are warning about the potential for “enormous liability.”

The lower courts had issued conflicting opinions about whether the law was constitutional. The state’s highest court then agreed to take up the question.

The justices heard oral argument on Sept. 10 at the Robert C. Murphy Courts of Appeal Building in Annapolis. Senior Justice Robert N. McDonald participated in the case in place of Justice Steven B. Gould.

“This is an historic day for all Marylanders, including, of course, victims of child sexual abuse, their families and their loved ones,” said Jonathan Schochor, an attorney who represents survivors in the Archdiocese of Washington.

Schochor said he’s been practicing law in Maryland for more than 50 years and the ruling will stand out in his memory forever.