KANSAS CITY (MO)
The Kansas City Star
BY JUDY L. THOMAS
THE KANSAS CITY STAR
07/23/2014
The Kansas City-St. Joseph Diocese told a judge Wednesday that it shouldn’t have to pay the $1.1 million ordered by an arbitrator last spring for violating the terms of a 2008 settlement with priest sexual abuse victims.
The main reason, diocesan lawyers argued, was because the arbitrator overstepped his authority in issuing the award.
Jackson County Circuit Judge Bryan Round heard arguments from both sides during a 90-minute hearing attended by more than a dozen victims or their family members. The plaintiffs asked the judge to confirm the arbitrator’s order, while the diocese argued that the order be vacated or modified.
“This is obviously a difficult matter for a variety of reasons,” Round said as the hearing concluded. “It’s going to take me a little bit of time to go through everything.”
The order, issued March 23 by arbitrator Hollis Hanover, stems from a breach-of-contract lawsuit filed three years ago alleging that the diocese and Bishop Robert Finn violated parts of the 2008 settlement, putting children in danger. The lawsuit was filed in Jackson County Circuit Court by 44 of the 47 plaintiffs from the previous case.
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