GREAT FALLS (MT)
Great Falls Tribune
February 12, 2018
By Seaborn Larson
A federal judge on Monday granted a motion allowing two claims of sexual abuse by an Absarokee priest in the 1970s and ’80s to proceed to conclusion through the state courts.
The order by U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Jim Papas allows two claims to move forward in district court, which was not previously an option after the Great Falls-Billings Diocese filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy last year to move toward a settlement for the 86 people who have filed claims of sexual, physical and emotional abuse. Most claim the abuse took place in their youths at the hands of eastern Montana clergy from 1940s to the 1990s.
“The parties have negotiated, and are not making any progress in the Chapter 11 case,” Papas said during the hearing. “Time to do something else.”
Attorneys for the victims argued in January that while settlement negotiations are not moving forward, processing two claims at the state court level would provide more insight when working toward a settlement for the remaining 84 victims.
The district court case will likely decide whether or not the diocese was negligent in these instances of abuse, as alleged by attorneys for the victims.
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