BOSTON (MA)
The Day
By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN
& ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published on 12/31/2005
Boston — The Boston Archdiocese has offered to settle another round of sexual abuse claims for less per person than it paid in hundreds of cases two years ago.
The offer was for $5,000 to $200,000 per claim, depending on the severity of the abuse, according to lawyers for both the plaintiffs and the archdiocese.
The Boston Globe, quoting unidentified plaintiffs' lawyers, reported Friday that the payout would total about $7.5 million for about 100 plaintiffs. That would amount to an average payout of about $75,000 if everyone were paid. The 2003 settlements, $85 million to 554 people, averaged $153,000.
Carmen Durso, who represents 33 plaintiffs, said that as part of the settlement offer, some of the alleged victims — those considered to have the weaker of the cases — would have to prove to an arbitrator that the abuse took place and some could face cross-examination by church lawyers.