Federal Judge Orders First Round of Clergy Sexual Abuse Cases against San Diego Diocese to Go to Trial
California Catholic Daily
August 28, 2007
http://www.calcatholic.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?id=cfc159a2-6154-4de7-a4c9-c4e6cae52ccf
A federal bankruptcy judge on Friday has ordered immediate jury trials for 42 civil clergy sexual abuse lawsuits filed against the San Diego by 58 plaintiffs. Plaintiffs' lawyer Andrea Leavitt praised Judge Louise De Carl Adler's decision, saying she "has the wisdom to grasp the gamesmanship the victims have been subjected to for years by the diocese," according to the Aug. 25 Los Angeles Times.
The decisions, say lawyers for alleged victims, could force the diocese to come to an acceptable settlement.
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Over 150 claimants have filed lawsuits against the diocese. Last February, when the first of the lawsuits was about to go to trial, the diocese filed for bankruptcy protection – becoming, according to the Times, the largest diocese in the United States to do so. The diocese, which said it would become insolvent if forced to pay damages, offered claimants a $95 million settlement, which has been refused – and, in her recent ruling, Adler said the amount is "far below the historic statewide average of payments" to plaintiffs who sue in civil court. Plaintiffs' lawyers are seeking about a $200 million settlement.
Adler has questioned the diocese's accounting. In April she questioned why some parish bank accounts were not listed in court filings and why 98 parishes held 770 bank accounts. She criticized Fr. Bruce Osborn who, writing on behalf of a diocesan organization of parishes, told told parishes to get new taxpayer identification numbers and transfer their funds to new accounts. Adler had told the diocese not to transfer funds while bankruptcy proceedings were going on.
Plaintiffs' lawyers have charged that the diocese has low-balled the value of it assets in reports to the court because they were not based on current appraisals. In defense, Bishop Salvatore Cordileone said the diocese does not obtain periodic property appraisals because it and the parishes "purchase real property and make improvements only to accomplish the mission of the Church ... it would have been pure speculation for the diocese to have estimated market values without going through the lengthy and expensive process of obtaining professional appraisals."
Adler said she will rule on Sept. 6 whether to allow the diocese's bankruptcy proceedings to go forward. Lawyers for the diocese have said Adler does not have the authority to send the 42 cases to the superior court for trial.
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