MIAMI (FL)
Miami Herald
By JAY WEAVER
jweaver@MiamiHerald.com
A Catholic priest suspended by the Archdiocese of Miami because of sexual-abuse allegations has filed a defamation lawsuit against an attorney representing one of his accusers.
The Rev. Alvaro Guichard, 65, claims lawyer Jeffrey Herman defamed him at a Sept. 22, 2004, press conference, when the attorney announced settlements of several sex-abuse lawsuits against the archdiocese -- some involving Guichard.
Herman recently moved to dismiss Guichard's defamation suit, filed in November in Miami-Dade Circuit Court.
Herman allowed Guichard to stay at the press conference after Guichard crashed the gathering at Herman's Aventura law office. An ensuing confrontation nearly resulted in fisticuffs between Guichard and the brother of one of the priest's alleged victims.