February 25, 2005

Diocese sues insurance company for settlement

AUSTIN (TX)
News 8 Austin

Updated: 2/24/2005 10:04 PM
By: James Keith

According to court records filed this week, The Roman Catholic Diocese of Austin has spent more than $1.2 million on six different sexual abuse cases: $878,000 is in settlements and $243,000 is in attorney fees.

The diocese says five insurance providers breached contracts with them

Court documents say, "As a result of these breaches, the Diocese incurred attorneys' fees and expenses, costs of Court, and/or settlement costs with regard to the John Doe 1, John Doe 2, John Doe 3, John Doe 4, John Doe 5, John Doe 6 claims."

Proving negligence might be tough.

"Insurance companies provide coverage for negligence or accidents but insurance policies exclude coverage for "criminal acts," Mark Hanna, a spokesperson with the Insurance Council of Texas said.

Posted by kshaw at February 25, 2005 09:31 AM