CALIFORNIA
CBS 5
02/18/05 12:50 PST
OAKLAND (BCN)
Talks aimed at reaching settlements in at least of some of the more than 150 lawsuits in a mega-case alleging sexual abuse by Roman Catholic priests throughout Northern California will continue next week, an attorney for some of the alleged victims said today.
Rick Simons, one of the lead plaintiffs' attorneys in the so-called "Clergy III'' case, said lawyers, plaintiffs and church representatives in some of the cases have been meeting all this week at the Wyndham Garden Hotel in Pleasanton in hopes of reaching settlements.
Starting Monday, the settlement talks will switch to the Concord Convention Center, a large venue that can accommodate more people and therefore handle cases from throughout Northern California, Simons said.
Many of the lawyers are back in the courtroom of Alameda County Superior Court Judge Ronald Sabraw today for the latest in a lengthy series of pretrial hearings on thorny legal issues in the sexual abuse cases. Sabraw is overseeing the cases and wants to refine and narrow the issues before the first two go to trial on March 7.