LOS ANGELES (CA)
Los Angeles Times
By Jean Guccione, Times Staff Writer
March 8, 2006
Lawyers huddled in a downtown Los Angeles courthouse late Tuesday, trying to settle 23 decades-old molestation cases out of the now-defunct St. Anthony's Seminary in Santa Barbara.
The men are suing the Los Angeles Archdiocese and the Franciscan religious order that ran the seminary, alleging they failed to protect the men from predatory priests.
A deal in these cases would mark the largest group settlement in the L.A. Archdiocese since the sexual abuse scandal was disclosed four years ago. It comes as the archdiocese is facing 560 sexual abuse cases.
Lawyers involved in the negotiations said each case was expected to settle for more than $1 million. That amount would put it in roughly the same range as last year's global settlement in which the Diocese of Orange closed the books on 90 abuse claims for a record $100 million.