I presume the lawyers for the these two men are essentially asking for the $5M to not create more bad publicity since they can’t actually file suit?

But of the Lucchino group bought only the assets (Fenway, NESN, the trademarks, the MLB franchise rights, the physical inventory of uniforms, bats, balls, etc.) and took assignment of the contracts (with players, with the minor league teams, with the vendors, etc.), then in all likelihood any old claims like this one would remain with the sellers. This is called an “asset sale.”

I can’t find any references in a quick Google search to find out which one was the case. But in the case of an an asset case, there would be a new company in place that owns the Red Sox, and the old company would likely have been dissolved by now–leaving the sex abuse plaintiffs with no entity left to sue. The “new” Red Sox in that case would likely also be off the hook. Sometimes there is something called “successor liability,” but it doesn’t seem likely to be in play here, 20 years later and especially with the statute of limitations having expired.

In your restaurant example, typically buyers of restaurants will demand an asset sale for exactly that reason–you don’t know what claims are going to come out of the woodwork later on, and even if the seller agrees to cover anything that arises, who knows whether he will still have the money at that time. He could transfer it to a trust or to family members.

I agree with shaggylocks: even if the current ownership group is not responsible, they should make some sort of large donation to anti-sex abuse charities or funds.

I don’t know how accurate that is, though. If I bought a restaurant from someone, completely changed the menu, remodeled the dining room, and updated the kitchen, is my restaurant responsible for paying restitution to the people the previous owner made ill with under-cooked seafood?

But I don’t know if that analogy is truly analogous, especially considering the severity of the crime here. Child abuse is disgusting and horrible, and the current ownership should do everything in their power to help the victims. Not because they’re legally responsible, but because it’s the decent, human thing to do.