Mediation to begin in church sex abuse cases

GUAM
The Guam Daily Post

Mindy Aguon |The Guam Daily Post

Attorneys representing 75 childhood sex abuse victims and the Catholic Church in Guam believe alternative dispute resolution will resolve a majority of the cases filed against the Archdiocese of Agana, and possibly cases filed against the Boy Scouts of America.

Retired federal Judge Michael Hogan, of Oregon, has agreed to serve as alternative dispute resolution mediator in the cases and the Archdiocese of Agana has retained Seattle, Washington-based attorney Michael Patterson as defense counsel for all pending litigation filed against the Catholic Church in Guam.

Patterson has represented dioceses and archdioceses across the country for more than 30 years and has been instrumental in resolving more than 2,000 childhood sexual abuse cases across the nation, according to the website of his law firm, Patterson Buchanan Fobes & Leitch.

The civil litigator will work with the Archdiocese of Agana’s legal counsel, attorney John Terlaje, and Hope and Healing Guam.

“These are very difficult cases for all involved … however, I am very confident that, in cooperation with Hope and Healing Guam, the archdiocese will work successfully with plaintiff’s counsel to find a fair and reasonable resolution to these claims,” Patterson told The Guam Daily Post.

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