MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Thousands of rape victims will have to wait a little longer to find out if they can file a class action lawsuit against the City of Memphis.
The City of Memphis has been at the center of litigation surrounding the mishandling of more than 12,000 rape kits from 1985 to 2014.
Preliminary hearings in the case, which have been going on for eight years, wrapped up in October. That left Judge Gina Higgins to rule on whether a class action lawsuit against the City can move forward.
Thursday, Daniel Lofton, an attorney for the plaintiffs, said the judge’s ruling will be delayed following the discovery of new evidence.
Lofton said new evidence has come in regarding the city’s ability to test rape kits early on. They plan to turn the evidence over to Higgins.
Lofton said Higgin’s ruling will be delayed for about a month.
While attorneys for the plaintiffs argue that the City is liable for the untested kits, attorneys for the City of Memphis argue that DNA technology didn’t make it plausible to test every kit until 2002.
Attorneys for the City also argue that the victims shouldn’t be able to file a class action lawsuit because each case is different.
“It is false, painfully false, that there were 12,000 untested sexual assault kits,” a city attorney said in October.