KANSAS CITY (MO)
The Republic
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
August 14, 2014
KANSAS CITY, Missouri — A judge has affirmed an arbitrator’s $1.1 million breach-of-contract award against the Catholic Diocese of Kansas City and St. Joseph for violating a 2008 settlement with victims of sexual abuse by priests.
In his ruling late Wednesday, Jackson County Circuit Judge Bryan Round wrote there could “be no doubt that the Diocese, through its leadership and higher-level personnel, failed in numerous respects to abide by the terms of the non-monetary commitments” of the settlement, The Kansas City Star reported (http://bit.ly/1vOMfqc ).
The breach-of-contract lawsuit was filed in 2011 by several of the plaintiffs in the 2008 case, which was resolved with a $10 million judgment and 19 specific conditions for the diocese. Among them was a requirement that any suspected abuse by priests be reported immediately to authorities.
The lawsuit accused the diocese and Bishop Robert Finn of violating the settlement through such actions as waiting nearly a year to report suspected abuse by the Rev. Shawn Ratigan and withholding evidence of possible child pornography for months.
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