BOSTON (MA)
CNN
Thursday, March 9, 2006 Posted: 2048 GMT (0448 HKT)
BOSTON, Massachusetts (AP) -- Eighty-eight people who say they were molested by Roman Catholic priests will get $5,000 to $200,000 each, with the exact amounts to be determined by an arbitrator, under an agreement announced Thursday by the Boston Archdiocese.
The arbitration hearings are scheduled to begin next week.
Before the plaintiffs agreed to arbitration, the archdiocese had offered to settle with them for an average of $75,000 each. That figure is less than half the average amount paid to 554 plaintiffs in an 2003 settlement.
"They are extremely disappointed by the low settlement offer made by the archdiocese, but they realize they should try to obtain some type of closure and move on with their lives," said attorney Mitchell Garabedian, who represents 28 of the 88 claimants.