A Baltimore judge put a temporary pause on lawsuits filed under the Child Victims Act due to an "unprecedented influx of cases," according to court documents. 

According to the court order, more than 1,250 lawsuits have been filed in Baltimore Circuit Court under the .

The measure removed time constraints for victims of sexual abuse, allowing them to take legal action and gain financial compensation. 

Maryland revises Child Victims Act

On June 1, changes to the Child Victims Act took effect.

Due to a revision approved by lawmakers in April, Sexual abuse survivors in Maryland face limits on court compensation.

The bill limits payouts for abuse claims involving public institutions to $400,000 and claims against private institutions to $700,000.

Attorney fees are also capped at 20% for cases settled out of court and 25% for cases that go to trial.

Ongoing sex abuse lawsuits against institutions in Maryland

A new lawsuit announced Monday claimed a Baltimore City Public School teacher sexually assaulted students in the 1970s. 

The lawsuit, filed by Baltimore-based law firm Murphy, Falcon & Murphy, accuses the school district of allowing special education teacher Alvin Hunt to abuse students in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

One victim was left with severe trauma, and another became pregnant as a result of the abuse, according to the lawsuit.

More than 650 lawsuits have been filed, alleging abuse at Maryland juvenile detention centers between the 1970s and 2018.

According to the lawsuits, the juvenile detention system delayed or ignored reform despite investigations, warnings, and reports of abusive staff and invasive strip searches.

In April, a group of Maryland attorneys said they were filing lawsuits on behalf of survivors of sexual abuse at Calvert Hall College High School, an all-boys Catholic school in Baltimore County. 

The Archdiocese of Baltimore is facing hundreds of lawsuits from victims who said they were abused by priests, teachers and employees under the church's supervision.