Superior Court tosses suits against Phila. Archdiocese that exceeded statute of limitations

Pennsylvania's Superior Court on Tuesday ruled that two men who had sued the Archdiocese of Philadelphia for alleged sex abuse missed their legal deadlines to file.

The decision affirmed a Philadelphia judge's separate rulings against Francis Finnegan, who alleged he was abused from 1968 to 1979, and Philip Gaughan, who alleged he was abused from 1994 to 1997.

In the court's opinion, President Judge Susan Peikes Gantman wrote that Finnegan had a two-year statute of limitations and should have filed his complaint in 1972. Gaughan had two years after he turned 18, which was in 2000. He filed his complaint a year later. - Robert Moran