MONTANA
Great Falls [MT] Tribune
September 11, 2017
By Seaborn Larson, slarson@greatfallstribune.com
Two days of negotiations toward a settlement between the Great Falls-Billings Diocese and 86 victims who were reportedly abused by eastern Montana priests during the 1900s ended last week in a stalemate.
The mediation sessions took place in federal bankruptcy court in Reno, Nevada on Sept. 6 and 7. On Monday, Judge Gregg Zive filed a notice effectively terminating the mediation between the two parties.
Bruce Anderson, an Idaho attorney representing the Great Falls-Billings Diocese in the settlement negotiations did not return calls from the Tribune for comment on the ending of the mediation. Neither did attorneys for the victims who have reported abuse in the case.
[Related: Montana reservations reportedly ‘dumping grounds’ for predatory priests]
Zive told the Tribune on Monday that settlement negotiations are confidential. Many routes can still be taken toward an eventual conclusion in the federal bankruptcy case, including a return to mediation sometime in the future.
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