Federal Judge Offers Court Services for Clergy Abuse Mediation

By Haidee V Eugenio
Pacific Daily News
August 25, 2017

http://www.guampdn.com/story/news/2017/08/25/federal-judge-offers-court-services-clergy-abuse-mediation/596475001/

U.S. District Court Chief Judge Frances Tydingco-Gatewood on Fridayoffered the use of a sitting federal judge to mediate the proposed settlement of nearly 100 clergy sex abuse cases, at no cost to the parties. She said the parties should consider reaching a global settlement — one that resolves all of the cases.

It costs $10,000 a day in fees to hire a private mediator, Archbishop Anthony S. Apuron's counsel, Jacqueline Terlaje, told the chief judge during a status hearing Friday.

Nearly 100 lawsuits have been filed, accusing Guam clergy members, Boy Scouts leaders and others associated with the Catholic Church of sexually abusing children decades ago. All of the lawsuits name the church as a defendant, and 77 of the lawsuits were filed in federal court.

Retired Saipan Bishop Tomas A. Camacho's counsel, William Fitzgerald, told the judge that the 86-year-old bishop won't be able to contribute toward paying a private mediator in any settlement. Fitzgerald is representing Camacho without charge.

Mediation for the cases is scheduled for early October, and attorneys in the federal and local cases are scheduled to meet in Honolulu Sept. 4 and Sept. 5 with retired judge Michael Hogan to discuss mediation protocols.

Tydingco-Gatewood gave the parties until Sept. 12 to inform her whether they would instead like Judge Alex Munson to act as a mediator in the proposed settlement.

"When you have a sitting judge like (Judge) Munson...it will be at no cost to the parties," Tydingco-Gatewood said, adding that Munson is thorough and has vast experience in mediation and case settlement. She said hiring a private mediator could be costly to the parties.

Attorney David Lujan, counsel for nearly 80 of the lawsuits in federal court, said the parties in the case will respond to Tydingco-Gatewood's offer after the Honolulu meetings.

Lujan said his clients are not interested in a global settlement.

"We want individual settlements because each client's injury is different from other clients so you can't just give a number and speed it up a hundred times," said Lujan, who was accompanied at the hearing by Jim Brooks and attorney Delia Lujan Wolff.

'Apuron is a scam'

Archbishop Anthony Apuron (Photo: PDN file)

Lujan, responding to media questions, had strong words for Apuron, who is accused of sexually abusing or raping altar boys in Agat in the 1970s.

"Apuron is a scam," Lujan said. "You see now that Apuron is willing now to get into settlement discussions."

Apuron's counsel, Terlaje, said the archbishop is not participating in any settlement at this time, pending the outcome of an Aug. 29 hearing on Apuron's motion to dismiss the lawsuits against him.

Magistrate Judge Joaquin Manibusan granted a stay in all cases filed by accusers represented by Lujan, to allow for mediation, except for the four cases against Apuron.

"The judge is just simply proposing as she would in every case, in every civil case, (that) there are federal judges who are available to assist with the potential settlement conference essentially before all the parties enter into a very protracted litigation, that we have the opportunity to sit down with an experienced federal judge who will help to see if the parties are able to settle the cases," Terlaje said.

She said any settlement discussion also hinges on the result of Apuron's ongoing Vatican canonical trial.

The Vatican suspended Apuron on June 6, 2016, weeks after he was publicly accused of sexual abuse and rape of minors.

Apuron, through his attorney, has argued that the 2016 law that paved the way for filing clergy sex abuse lawsuits did not retroactively lift the statute of limitations for child sexual abuse. The law is inorganic — contrary to the Organic Act of Guam — and unconstitutional, Apuron's attorney has argued.

Also attending Friday's hearing were Boy Scouts of America counsel Patrick Civille, former priest David Anderson's counsel Wayson Wong via telephone, and archdiocese attorneys John Terlaje and Michael Patterson, via phone.

Lujan said more clergy sex abuse lawsuits will be filed.