CALIFORNIA
The Ledger
The Associated Press
LOS ANGELES
Attorneys for both sides have asked a judge to order nine clergy sexual abuse cases against the Los Angeles Archdiocese to reach the trial stage within the next nine months.
Lawyers for Cardinal Roger M. Mahony and attorneys for more than 560 people suing the archdiocese said in their request that efforts to settle the lawsuits have stalled.
The two sides and the archdiocese's insurers have been trying for nearly three years to reach a global legal settlement that could approach $1 billion.
Lawyers for the archdiocese and the plaintiffs blame the impasse on the insurers, which have sued to gain documents about the alleged sexual abuse by priests.
"We are not able to get anywhere near the levels of sincere participation from our carriers," said archdiocese attorney J. Michael Hennigan.