(AUSTRALIA)
Australian Broadcasting Corporation - ABC [Sydney, Australia]
March 28, 2024
By Elizabeth Byrne
- In short: A man who suffered prolonged sexual abuse by former Canberra priest Father Lloyd Reynolds in the1960s has won his bid to have a settlement agreement set aside.
- As part of a $100,000 settlement he signed an agreement not to pursue any further liability, but the court found his dyslexia and literacy skills were so poor he thought the document was something else entirely.
- What’s next? Acting Justice Greg Curtin found the settlement deed was not just and reasonable and set it aside, clearing the way for the man to seek further damages.
A man who suffered prolonged sexual abuse at the hands of a former Canberra priest has won a bid to have a settlement agreement set aside, because he couldn’t read well enough to understand what he was signing.
Warning: This story contains details that some readers may find distressing.
It’s believed to be the first such judgement by the ACT Supreme Court after the law changed in 2022, allowing settlement deeds in sex abuse cases to be set aside if they are unjust or unreasonable.
The judgement by Acting Justice Greg Curtin details how Father Lloyd Reynolds began abusing the boy in the 1960s when he was about six years old, and continued for several years.
The man said he and his friends first met Father Reynolds at a Canberra pool, where he began playing with the group, before offering them a lift home.
According to the judgement Father Reynolds asked the boy’s parents if he could come and help him with the church notices.
“The plaintiff’s parents did not have any issue with the plaintiff assisting Father Reynolds, nor did they have any issue with him spending the night at the presbytery,” Acting Justice Curtin said.
“The plaintiff said he believed this was because he would be with a member of the church and recalled his mother advising him that ‘priests aren’t allowed to lie’.”
The man said Father Reynolds would buy him hot chips for dinner, and dress him in church pyjamas.
He also said at the time he did not understand what was happening to him.
“…he did not tell his parents what had happened when he returned home as he was still in shock and did not understand what Father Reynolds had done to him,” Acting Justice Curtin said.
“The plaintiff said that he did not know what to do to make the abuse stop.
“He recalled that Father Reynolds often told him that it was part of the job of a priest to teach boys his age about sex.”
Setting aside settlement deed clears way to seek further damages
The man estimated he was abused between 80 and 100 times by Father Reynolds, who died in the 1980s.
The court heard the man did tell a friend and some family members about the abuse in the 1970s, but only reported the abuse to the church in 2006.
The man said the church initially offered him $20,000.
He demanded $2 million, but in the end there was a settlement for $100,000.
As part of the settlement he signed an agreement not to pursue any further liability.
But Acting Justice Curtin has found the man’s dyslexia and literacy skills were so poor he thought the document he was signing was something else entirely.
He also found the man had received no independent legal advice about the document.
“…there was a substantial inequality of bargaining power at the time of the negotiation and signing of the release,” Acting Justice Curtin said.
Acting Justice Curtin said although he wasn’t deciding the quantum of the case, “the best case quantum for the plaintiff’s damages case would be significantly greater than the settlement sum”.
He set aside the deed saying it was not a just and reasonable agreement.
The way is now clear for the man to seek further damages.
The man’s lawyer, Hassan Ehsan, welcomed the decision and said it had been a “long time coming”.
“The amendments that were made in late 2022 finally allowed him to seek an order that his previously executed deed be set aside because it was just and reasonable to do so,” he said.
“What this means for the plaintiff is that clears the path for him to pursue proper compensation without any legal barriers.
“The decision also provides guidance as to the principles that are to be applied here in the ACT when considering an application pursuant to section 114K of the Civil Law (Wrongs) Act 2002.
“It opens the door for many other victims to pursue proper compensation” for the wrongs committed against them when they were minors.”
Sexual assault support lines:
- 1800 Respect National Helpline: 1800 737 732
- Sexual Assault Counselling Australia: 1800 211 028
- Men’s Referral Service: 1300 766 491
- Lifeline (24-hour crisis line): 131 114
- Victims of Crime Helpline: 1800 819 817