(KLFY)-- The Louisiana Supreme Court voted to reverse a ruling giving childhood victims of sexual abuse another opportunity to file damage lawsuits. This decision comes after the court ruled in March the law could not stand due to conflicts with due process rights in the state constitution.

"It was a landmark decision in the state of Louisiana," Cle Simon, an attorney with Simon Law Offices, said. "It's going to have far reaching consequences in terms of allowing sexual abuse victims to finally have the opportunity to have their cases heard and resolved."

Simon said the ruling by the state supreme court is a milestone for victims who have long suffered in silence.

"The original ruling was against us by a vote of four to three, on rehearing when they reversed their prior decision it was a vote of five to two, so we were successful in convincing two of the prior four to change their opinion," Simon said.

Simon represents the victims in this case including Doug Bienvenu. He and 10 others filed a lawsuit against the Diocese of Lafayette and Saint Martin De Tours Catholic Church for sexual abuse claims. Simon said he hopes this will influence similar challenges in other states.

"The fact that we were held to be constitutional in Louisiana is going to be persuasive when and if there's any challenges in the other states where they challenge the constitutionality of those laws," Simon said.

Simon said the state judicial system will make the right decision in giving justice to his clients.

"Reality is behind the scenes they were fighting tooth and nail to get the cases dismissed," Simon said. "Finally we've had this issue removed from the proceedings and now it's just a matter of going to trial, if that's what it takes, and presenting our case and letting the jury decide."

As a result of this law, the legislation has extended the deadline for expired lawsuits of sexual abuse victims until June 2027.

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