MILWAUKEE (WI)
National Catholic Reporter
Marie Rohde | Dec. 19, 2014
The Milwaukee archdiocese has asked a bankruptcy judge to approve a settlement with three insurance companies, a move that would more than double the $4 million the archdiocese has offered the survivors of clergy sexual abuse.
The archdiocese and the insurance companies — London Market, OneBeacon, and Stonewall — have been negotiating for more than four years and entered into mediation several times. According to the proposed agreement, the insurance companies will buy back policies for a total of $10.3 million. Half of the money will go to a fund for victims, and the other half will go toward legal fees that now amount to more than $18 million, some of which has already been paid.
The settlement agreement will not be finalized until approved by the bankruptcy judge, Susan V. Kelley, and is likely to be opposed by survivors who have filed claims, according to a lawyer and a survivor representative. Kelley could approve the agreement without the go-ahead, but it is unlikely, as no other diocesan or religious order bankruptcies have proceeded in the face of such opposition.
Jerry Topczewski, a spokesman for the Milwaukee archdiocese, said in a statement: “Because of the archdiocese’s relentless pursuit of a settlement with insurance carriers, it has brought more than $10 million into the plan of reorganization which benefits abuse survivors and it brings us another step closer to a resolution of the Chapter 11 proceeding.”
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.