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	Hearing Focuses on Valuation of Cases 2 Sides Differ on Model for Reaching Settlements By Mark Sauer and Sandi Dolbee Union-Tribune [San Diego CA] April 19, 2007 http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20070419-9999-1m19diocese.html What is the monetary value of the psychological damage caused by being raped as a child by a priest? What about less egregious sexual abuse? That issue is at the core of the bankruptcy case filed by the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego. It was a subject that dominated a court hearing yesterday before federal Judge Louise DeCarl Adler. Attorneys representing the more than 150 men and women who sued the diocese for alleged sexual abuse by priests and nuns said Adler should look at the 400 clergy-abuse cases already settled elsewhere in California, either through negotiation or jury trials. The plaintiffs' attorneys have placed the "range of value" for those cases at between $1.1 million and $1.6 million each. Susan Boswell, the diocese lead bankruptcy attorney, objected to the other side's argument that settlement amounts should be based on awards made in other California abuse cases. She'd rather broaden the comparison to settlements in other states. Diocese attorneys, in an early plan to settle the bankruptcy case, offered a settlement pool of $95 million. Under that proposal, payments would range from $10,000 to $800,000, depending upon the severity of the abuse. Half of San Diego's proposed settlement fund would come from sales of diocese property and other funds, and half from its insurer, Catholic Mutual, according to Boswell. Plaintiffs' attorney Terry Giles contended that the diocese filed for bankruptcy to avoid "airing some dirty laundry in court." Giles suggested that Adler release for trial the four cases "that were set to go" but were "stayed" by the bankruptcy filing. "If you would release (the four cases) for trial, you'd be astonished how quickly the San Diego diocese would value and settle all of these cases," said Giles. He represents a Colorado woman claiming she was seduced by a diocese priest in 1972, when she was 17. But Boswell, who handled the Tucson diocese's bankruptcy case, disagreed. "One does not come to bankruptcy court in order to hide," she said. "One comes to disclose and be transparent." Other plaintiffs' attorneys suggested that judges who presided over clergy-abuse settlements in Northern California and Los Angeles be hired to decide what the San Diego cases are worth. The diocese's $95 million proposal, which could grow if parishes and religious orders named in the lawsuits agreed to add to that pot, calls for a special arbitrator to evaluate claims. Yesterday, Boswell said she would have no objections to a panel of people fulfilling the arbitrator role. Boswell disagreed with attorneys on the other side, who said the San Diego bankruptcy case couldn't be compared to those filed in Spokane, Wash.; Tucson, Ariz.; Portland, Ore.; and Davenport, Iowa. The only unique thing about California is the state law that lifted the statute of limitations for one year in 2003, allowing decades-old abuse allegations to be filed as civil lawsuits, she said. Boswell, who noted in court documents that the diocese "is not insolvent," asked rhetorically: "Is this diocese so unique that it has to pay top dollar as opposed to looking at where it might fit in the overall scheme of things?" Judge Adler responded that "the flip side is the debtor's (diocese's) real estate is worth top dollar because of where it is located." Adler said that trying some cases, hiring state – or federal – judges to assign values, naming an arbitrator, and urging the parties to consider mediation are all things she will consider. After less than two months into the Chapter 11 reorganization petition, one of the biggest battles is over what should be included among the diocese's assets. The diocese lists its real-estate value at just under $100 million and says that the 98 parishes are held in trust and therefore should not be included in the estate. Plaintiffs' attorneys strongly disagree. In a statement filed for yesterday's hearing, Boswell emphasized that the diocese won't relent on this point without a fight. Resolving this issue, she wrote, "would require multiple appeals ... taking as many as 10 years." Adler scheduled another hearing for May to consider these key issues. Meanwhile, in a hearing set for tomorrow, plaintiffs and other creditors will have an opportunity to question diocese representatives in an open forum. Last week, the judge ordered that hundreds of parish accounts be included in an amended financial statement and that Bishop Robert Brom sign it under penalty of perjury.
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