MILWAUKEE (WI)
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Associated Press
A man who was abused by a priest while attending a school for deaf children cannot set aside a settlement with the Archdiocese of Milwaukee to pursue a claim in bankruptcy court, a federal appeals court ruled Wednesday.
The man identified in court documents as John Doe settled with the archdiocese for $80,000 in 2007, after participating in mediation set up by the church.
The archdiocese filed for bankruptcy in 2011, saying it wouldn’t be able to pay if lawsuits filed by other victims went against it. Doe and hundreds of victims then filed claims in federal bankruptcy court.
Doe’s attorneys said archdiocese officials deceived him by telling him $80,000 was all he could get, when some others received $100,000 to $200,000. Doe also did not realize the extent of the archdiocese’s knowledge about abuse he and other students suffered or that the church was paying some priests to leave, the attorneys said in court documents.
A bankruptcy judge and then a district court judge said Wisconsin law doesn’t allow statements made in mediation to be used as evidence in court, and therefore, Doe could not pursue his claim. The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals agreed.
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