SAN FRANCISCO (CA)
San Francisco Chronicle
Don Lattin, Chronicle Staff Writer
Tuesday, June 14, 2005
Settlement talks and trial preparations continue this week in the aftermath of last week's $21.2 million settlement of 15 child sex-abuse claims against the Archdiocese of San Francisco.
Approximately 100 civil lawsuits are still pending against Catholic dioceses and religious orders across Northern California, winnowed down from 180 lawsuits originally filed in 2003 against Catholic bishops and religious orders across Northern California.
Rick Simons, the coordinating counsel for the abuse claims filed against Northern California's dioceses, said seven separate sets of settlement talks continued between attorneys for the church and its insurance companies and lawyers for plaintiffs who say they were sexually abused as minors by Catholic priests. The largest talks concern a possible "global" settlement of suits brought by 55 plaintiffs against the Diocese of Oakland.
The lawsuits stemmed from a state law passed in 2002 that temporarily lifted the statute of limitations on damages claims against organizations that gave known molesters access to additional victims.