MINNESOTA
St. Cloud Times
By David Unze
dunze@stcloudtimes.com
A Stearns County judge is scheduled to hear arguments today that likely will settle a clergy sex-abuse lawsuit against St. Cloud Diocese and a former priest.
Attorneys have agreed to what's known as a "hi-low" settlement of the claims made by Wayne Eller against a former diocesan priest.
Two settlement amounts have been agreed on, and Judge Elizabeth Hayden's ruling on today's arguments will determine which settlement is triggered, said Jeffrey Anderson, the attorney representing Eller.
Eller has accused James Thoennes of molesting him in the mid-1960s at a Sauk Centre home where Thoennes' parents lived. Lawyers for the diocese, Thoennes and Bishop John Kinney are arguing that Eller's claims should be dismissed because they were filed years after the statute of limitations had expired.
That rule provides a time frame in which to file sexual-abuse lawsuits after the abuse occurred or was recalled.