Last week a TN judge ruled that a 2018 law prohibiting NDAs in cases of child sexual abuse can be applied retroactively: the ASC hopes that the decision will be implemented across the state

For immediate release: June 11, 2026

As reported on June 5th, a judge released a Tennessee mom from the nondisclosure agreement (NDA) she signed in 2016 to settle a lawsuit for her child’s sexual abuse. The court agreed with her that a law passed in 2018 prohibiting such agreements should apply retroactively to her case.

While this lower court ruling established no legal precedent in Tennessee, the Abuse Survivors Coalition (ASC) agrees 100% with the decision and hopes that other judges across the state will follow suit, or that legislators will confirm that this decision correctly interprets their intent.

Being free to share what happened to you, as well as how the institution responded, and how all of that made you feel, is an important element of healing for victims and their family members. Where legal impediments stand in the way of this process, the results can be devastating. In fact, there is a bipartisan push across the country to pass prohibitions of NDAs in cases of child sexual abuse, echoing how the judge interpreted the 2018 Tennessee law, for precisely that reason.

The push for “Trey's Laws” originated with the tragic story of Trey Carlock, a survivor of child sexual abuse who died by suicide in 2019 at the age of 28. As a child, Trey was groomed and abused at a summer camp in Missouri. When he sought civil justice as an adult, he was forced to sign a strict NDA as part of his settlement. This legal mandate to keep silent prevented him from publicly sharing his experience, with a devastating impact on his mental health.

Championed by his sister, Elizabeth Carlock Phillips, Trey's Law has been enacted in Texas and Missouri to restore the voices of abuse survivors. Federal legislation (the Terminating Restrictive Enforcement of Youth Settlements Law) has been introduced in Congress.

The ASC believes that all survivors should be able to stand up and speak up. Not only is this freedom important to the healing process, it also ensures that important information about those who prey on children can be shared, helping to keep today's boys and girls safe. If you support the healing of victims of child sexual abuse and want to protect boys and girls from predators, you can help.

If you live in TN, use your voice to contact your representatives and urge them to make sure the lower court judge's decision becomes the law in TN. Contact your Congressional representatives as well to let them know you support the passage of the Terminating Restrictive Enforcement of Youth Settlements Law.

Even if you live outside of Tennessee, you can tell your Senators and Representatives that you want them to pass the Terminating Restrictive Enforcement of Youth Settlements Law. You can also pressure your state representatives to introduce and support Trey's law in your state.

Please, use your voice to help victims find theirs, and to protect the children you love.

CONTACT: Susan Vance, ASC Operations Team and Tennessee Contact (Susan8324@gmail.com, 865-748-3518), David Brown, ASC Tennessee Contact (david@davidbrownPI.com, 901-569-4500)

(The Abuse Survivor’s Coalition is a survivor-led, peer-run organization dedicated to supporting individuals affected by abuse and advocating for accountability within institutions where abuse has occurred. ASC is informed by decades of collective experience in survivor support, advocacy, and public education. The organization focuses on facilitating peer support, sharing information about available survivor resources, and engaging in advocacy efforts centered on survivor-led principles. Survivors remain the central priority of ASC’s work. Our website is: www.ascoalition.org)