OREGON
The Spokesman-Review
Kip Hill
The Spokesman-Review
A federal judge gave the go-ahead Wednesday for the Catholic Diocese of Spokane to take its legal malpractice claim to trial against the law firm that handled its 2007 bankruptcy.
The ruling opens the door for former Spokane Bishop and now Archbishop of Chicago Blase Cupich to return in February, when he’ll testify about his choice to pursue $3.6 million in legal fees from Paine Hamblen.
“I have every reasonable expectation that he will testify in February,” said Robert Gould, who is representing the diocese in the bankruptcy proceedings.
Cupich accuses Paine Hamblen lawyers of underestimating how many more victims would continue to come forward with sex abuse claims after the bankruptcy was first resolved.
A $1 million fund to pay these people filing “future claims” was set aside based on Paine Hamblen’s estimates of how much it would cost the diocese to settle the claims. But more victims came forward and the fund quickly was depleted, raising the specter of foreclosures on some Catholic parishes that had been put up as collateral.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.