ALBANY (NY)
WRGB - CBS 6 [Albany NY]
October 17, 2025
By Alex Weidner
Just days before a sexual abuse lawsuit was due to head to jury trial, The Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany settled the case for $8 million.
Law firm Pfau Cochran Vertitas Amala PLLC (PVCA) called it a “landmark” settlement on behalf of Michael Harmon. It’s the first such settlement among seven lawsuits that saw the Diocese’s bankruptcy stay lifted to allow for individual cases to go to trial. Attorneys say it’s a step toward resolving more than 400 cases against the Diocese, all stayed and pending in federal bankruptcy court.
The trial over Harmon’s case was set to begin Monday in New York State Supreme Court in Albany. It was filed in March 2020 as part of the state’s Child Victims Act window for filing abuse lawsuits that would have otherwise been past the statue of limitations.
“We commend Michael’s bravery in coming forward, in standing up to the Diocese, in uncovering the magnitude of what the Diocese knew about its priests using their positions to sexually abuse children, and for his willingness to take his case to a jury trial for the benefit of all of the survivors in the Diocese of Albany,” said Mallory Allen, a partner at PCVA Law. “We are hopeful that the Diocese’s decision to settle this case on the eve of trial means that it – and even more importantly, its insurance companies – will step up and do what is right for the hundreds of others who were abused as children in this Diocese and who are still waiting for justice.”
Harmon claimed that Father Edward Charles Pratt abused him from the ages of 11 to 16, when Pratt was the Vice Chancellor of the Diocese. Attorneys say reports of abuse at Pratt’s hands were reported before Harmon was a victim, and the abuse happened in the Chancery where Pratt lived across the hall from Bishop Howard Hubbard. Pratt would allegedly have Harmon stay the night.
In 2002, revelations of abuse at the hands of Catholic priests nationwide led to the removal of six priests from active ministry in the Albany Diocese, including Pratt.
Harmon offered to settle his claim earlier this year, but PVCA attorneys say the Diocese’s insurance providers wouldn’t even respond to the officer. The Diocese, however, chose to settle before risking a jury trial.
“This settlement, though certainly substantial, does not erase the trauma that Michael Harmon endured,” said co-counsel Cynthia LaFave, of LaFave, Wein, Frament & Karic. “But Michael does know that this settlement brings to the public this horrible abuse and the people who allowed it. For him, it is believing that children today will be more protected because he was willing to go to trial is what matters the most. This is the first step in a long road ahead for all the survivors of sexual abuse in the Diocese of Albany. We can only hope that the road ahead is far shorter than the road they have already traveled since filing suit.”
CBS6 reached out to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany for a response Friday morning.
Read Harmon’s 2020 court filing against the Diocese here.