WASHINGTON
National Catholic Reporter

Dan Morris-Young | Nov. 13, 2014

The law firm accused by the Spokane, Wash., diocese of mishandling a 2007 bankruptcy and settlement with clergy sex abuse victims filed a motion to dismiss the diocese’s claims on Monday in federal bankruptcy court.

Based in part on depositions from retired Bishop William Skylstad and Fr. Steven Dublinski, the diocese’s previous vicar general, the Monday filing charges that “the current claims are simply an attempt to throw mud at Paine Hamblen to try to get some insurance money.”

For its work leading to the 2007 settlement, the law firm of Paine Hamblen was ordered to be paid about $3.5 million by U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Patty Williams.

On Wednesday, the Spokane daily newspaper, The Spokesman-Review, reported that the diocese “is asking for at least $4 million in damages from the firm after alleging attorneys failed to disclose a…