In 2020, a New Jersey man filed suit against the Archdiocese of Newark, the Diocese of Metuchen, and Theodore McCarrick; the plaintiff alleged that the disgraced former prelate had repeatedly raped and assaulted him when he was an adolescent. Efforts to arrive at a settlement have failed, raising the prospect of an eventual significant jury award.

McCarrick was auxiliary bishop of New York (1977-81), bishop of Metuchen, NJ (1981-86), archbishop of Newark (1986-2000), and archbishop of Washington (2000-06). Created a cardinal in 2001, he resigned from the College of Cardinals in 2018 and was laicized in 2019.

McCarrick, now 92, also faces a criminal trial in Massachusetts.