Saturday, November 21, 2009

ONGOING COVERAGE: SPOKANE DIOCESE BANKRUPTCY

Diocese settles abuse cases

Los Angeles Times
September 8, 2007

SAN DIEGO – After years of negotiations, the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego on Friday announced a $198.1 million settlement with plaintiffs who said they were sexually abused by priests.

The agreement comes after several years of at times bitter negotiations between attorneys for the diocese and for 144 people who filed suit, claiming they were abused.

The settlement came two months after the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles announced it was settling more than 500 abuse cases for a total of $660 million.

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The settlement is more than twice what the San Diego diocese offered before filing for bankruptcy protection in February and is in line with the average settlement of about $1.3 million per victim in Los Angeles.

For months, San Diego diocese lawyers insisted the diocese did not have the insurance coverage or assets to make a larger settlement.