WISCONSIN
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
By Annysa Johnson of the Journal Sentinel
March 19, 2013
The Diocese of Green Bay has agreed to pay $700,000 to two brothers sexually assaulted by a now-defrocked priest, Father John Patrick Feeney, in the 1970s, the first lawsuit of its kind to go to trial in Wisconsin since such cases were blocked by a state Supreme Court ruling in 1995.
“First and foremost, I would like to say I am truly sorry to Todd Merryfield and Troy Merryfield, as well as their families, for the pain they have endured,” Green Bay Bishop David Ricken said in a statement announcing the settlement Tuesday.
Michael Finnegan, an attorney representing the brothers, called them “extremely courageous.”
“They came forward when they were kids, and again to put Feeney behind bars, and now again in the civil trial,” Finnegan said. “They are truly champions for kids.”
The settlement matches a $700,000 judgment awarded to the brothers by an Outagamie Jury in July. A judge overturned the verdict because of juror misconduct, and both sides were preparing for a new trial in May.
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