BishopAccountability.org
	Judge Asked to Decide on Interest Total Diocese, Abuse Victim Disagree on How Much Should Be Paid to Settle Suit By Phil Ray pray@altoonamirror.com Altoona Mirror April 22, 2006 http://www.altoonamirror.com/articles.asp?articleID=950 Hollidaysburg — The lengthy court battle between the Altoona-Johnstown Catholic Diocese and a former Altoona man sexually abused by a priest in the 1980s may be over, but the judge still has a question of interest to answer. Last weekend, the diocese agreed to pay $1 million in court-awarded punitive damages to Michael Hutchison, 38, who claims a priest sexually abused him when he was a child attending St. Therese's Catholic Church in Altoona. Hutchison's attorney, Richard Serbin of Altoona, said $720,000 in interest should be assessed because the diocese waited so long from the 1994 verdict to agree to pay punitive damages. Diocesan attorney Eric Anderson of Pittsburgh disagreed, saying a Superior Court decision put the verdict on hold for more than three years. The diocese claims that the interest should be $202,191, which means the total payment would be $1,202,191. This week the diocese asked Blair County Judge Hiram A. Carpenter, who presided over the 12-week civil trial in 1994, to decide what is appropriate. No date for a hearing has been set. Serbin said Friday that state law mandates that interest be paid from the point the verdict is returned to the time the case concludes. The county prothonotary issued a statement designating the start date for interest as April 21, 1994. Serbin said Friday was the 12th anniversary of that declaration. A Blair County jury returned a two-part verdict against the diocese: one dealing with compensatory damages, the other with punitive damages. Compensatory damages were paid to Hutchison years ago, but the question as to whether punitive damages could be levied against the diocese continued for years before the state Superior and Supreme courts. On March 21, the Superior Court decided punitive damages were proper. Bishop Joseph Adamec announced April 15 that the diocese did not intend to appeal that decision. The primary issue in the civil case, which was filed locally in 1987, was whether diocesan officials mishandled reports of child sexual abuse by priests.
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.