I take back all of my previous praise of the Bishop. It turns out the Diocese is only paying $40 million, with the remaining $80 million hinging on their successful lawsuit against their insurance carriers. Oh by the way, the Diocese is self-insured, which means they're essentially suing themselves.
BURLINGTON - Calling the $120 million Covington Diocese settlement "a sound bite," Senior Judge John Potter rejected it, saying both sets of lawyers were fooling victims of sexual abuse.
Potter, of Louisville, said that while the proposed settlement was a good first step, it could collapse and end up in a trial - because only $40 million is immediately available for the claims.
Potter didn't discount the chance that the remaining $80 million could be collected through litigation with insurers. "It may, in the future at some point, become a $120 million settlement."
The judge said he wanted to make sure that no victim of sexual abuse by a priest became dispirited about his comment, but that it was better the victims understand up front that there isn't yet $120 million to be doled out.
The diocese is suing its insurance carriers to force them to contribute $80 million to the victims of the nation's only class-action suit alleging sexual abuse by priests.
Church investments and diocesan real estate will cover the diocese's $40 million part of the settlement.
A Roman Catholic self-insurance program released a public statement while Potter conducted the hearing, saying the Covington Diocese never consulted with its agents about the proposed settlement, despite the fact that the insurance group had paid $1.6 million for lawyers to defend the diocese.
Catholic Mutual Group, whose chairman is the archbishop of Omaha, said it was "saddened that the diocese has chosen to sue the church's self-insurance fund without prior notification or consultation."
The diocese has participated in Catholic Mutual's self-insurance company since 1968.
The statement said the carrier has "scrupulously abided by its obligations" to the Covington Diocese and does not understand how the diocese could expect Catholic Mutual to fund a settlement in which it wasn't consulted and hadn't approved.
Regardless, the statement said, Catholic Mutual will work to help resolve the situation in a way that's fair to all involved.
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test
If I read the stories correctly. The church will even get paid back if the lawsuit works out. In fact the diocese will be out nothing in the end. And, stan Chesley will have been paid twice, once to win the class action and then to help collect against the insurance companies. It's a no brainer that the covington diocese signed off on the deal.
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