WISCONSIN
National Catholic Reporter
Marie Rohde | Nov. 6, 2014
In a ruling likely to affect scores of other sex abuse claims in the Milwaukee archdiocese bankruptcy case, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday threw out a claim by a deaf man who said he was assaulted as a teenager because he had agreed earlier to a settlement in mediation.
Lawyers for the man, identified only as John Doe, said the archdiocese had provided false information in getting the man to agree to an $80,000 settlement in 2007. Specifically, he says he was told that his alleged abuser — Fr. Lawrence Murphy, a man accused of abusing hundreds of children over the years — was not known to have a history of sexual misconduct. Later, church documents showed that to be false.
Under Wisconsin law, mediated settlements cannot be reopened by a court even if the settlement was procured based on false statements.
“Although one might contend it is unjust that a person like Doe cannot recover if he was in fact fraudulently induced into signing a settlement agreement, our task is to apply the Wisconsin statute as it is written,” said Ann Claire Williams, writing for the three-judge panel who heard the case.
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