Sex-Abuse Verdict for Priest Brought a Different Payoff
By Alan Gustafson
Statesman Journal [Portland OR]
May 21, 2007
http://www.statesmanjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2007705210318
Nobody ever accused Daniel Gatti of shying away from a tough fight.
The Salem lawyer's latest courtroom battle saw him represent three men who sued the Rev. Michael Sprauer of Salem for alleged sexual abuse at the MacLaren Youth Correctional Facility in the 1970s.
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Salem attorney Daniel Gatti won a case last week involving sexual abuse by a priest at the MacLaren Youth Correctional Facility during the 1970s. Photo by Timothy J. Gonzalez | Statesman Journal File |
Last week, a Portland jury determined that Sprauer abused two of the three plaintiffs -- Robert Paul Jr., 49, of Salem, and Randy Sloan, 49, of Aumsville. The jury awarded them nearly $1.4 million. It ruled that Sprauer did not abuse a third plaintiff -- Norman Klettke Jr., 44, of Portland.
Gatti talked about the high-profile case and what the outcome meant to him and his clients.
Question: How do you feel? Are you celebrating?
Answer: I'm really tired. This is not a celebration for me, it's a vindication for my clients. I'm not going to make any money on this case because it's going to be forever appealed, and my clients will get very little. But they got what they wanted the most, and that was their apology from the jury.
Q: Can you describe what it was like waiting for the verdict?
A: The longest moment in a trial lawyer's life is when it's said, "We the jury find for the ..." That time between the words "the plaintiff" or "the defendant," that millisecond, is like 10 hours of hell. It truly is.
Q: You've been a lawyer for more than 30 years. Would you call this verdict the biggest win of your career?
A: Emotionally, yes, without a doubt. Financially, I'm really getting minimum wage. We put years into this case, and we're not going to get millions of dollars or anything close to it.
Q: Does the emotional payoff make it all worthwhile?
A: It really does. I was emotional during this trial because of my own past and my own belief in my clients.
Q: You asked the jury to hold Sprauer responsible for the choices he made. Did jurors, in fact, hold him accountable with their split verdict?
A: Yes, they did and they did so very firmly when they awarded punitive damages. That is a statement that says you didn't just do it by a preponderance of the evidence, you clearly harmed these folks, and you clearly are responsible. Punitive damages are almost unheard of in this state.
Q: What was the key to this trial? Why did the jury side with two of the plaintiffs?
A: How do you hide the pain of what they were feeling? You don't fake that. These weren't actors up for the Oscar. These were people who were expressing their pain.
Q: At various times, you became very emotional as you spoke to the jury. Why?
A: Because I could relate to their pain, shame and anger, alcohol abuse, guilt and lack of trust. I truly believed in my clients. For them to be called liars and bad people because of some of the things they did in their lives ...
Q: You were sexually abused as a child, right? How old were you?
A: I think I was 9 or 10, but I do not know the age for certain. It was at a YMCA camp in Wisconsin. I can’t tell you the name of the abuser. He was a fat, ugly guy, I knew that.
Q: You wrote a novel, called “White Knuckle,” that dealt with sexual abuse. What’s the story behind the book?
A: I started writing “White Knuckle” when I was 18, and I didn’t finish it until I was 55.
Q: Was that part of your own therapy?
A: It really was. I’m convinced in looking back that it truly was a part of my therapy.
Q: You have repeatedly said that this case wasn’t primarily about money. Still sticking with that assertion?
A: Honest to God, I'm telling you, my clients are more relieved by the apology that was given to them by the jury, and to the acknowledgement of the harm that was done by Sprauer. That, to them, meant far more than money ever could.
Q: Would it mean anything to your clients if Sprauer told them that he was sorry?
A: It would mean everything to them in the world.
Q: Sprauer was adamant that the abuse never happened. Given that, do you think such an apology will ever occur?
A: Never.
Q: What do you think of Michael Sprauer?
A: I think Michael Sprauer inherently is a good guy, I really do, but there was a part of him that compelled him to act out in ways that were inappropriate.
Q: What did you make of his unflappable courtroom demeanor?
A: I don’t understand Michael Sprauer. To sit through this trial with such stoicism, without any expression of emotion, was stunning to me.
Q: What happens to the other lawsuits pending against Sprauer in Marion County?
A: I'm going to try to approach the state and say, listen, let's try to resolve these equitably so the state doesn't spend more millions of dollars defending the case. I'm sure they already have spent millions of dollars defending this case. I know they did.
Q: As you see it, what would it take to fairly settle the remaining claims against Sprauer and the state?
A: I want a reasonable settlement that would help my other guys with counseling. Something way under $100,000 for each person. I'm not asking for millions at all. I'm not getting rich off these cases. Neither are the men.
Q: Your clients already got settlements from the Portland Archdiocese. How much was paid to Paul, Klettke and Sloan?
A: Paul got $32,000. Klettke got $32,000. Sloan got $55,000.
Q: At some point, will Paul and Sloan get the $1.4 million that was awarded them last week by the jury?
A: They may get some, but it will be very little because the state has limits in terms of the state's liability, and, of course, we're not going after Sprauer.
Q: You're not going after Sprauer for the punitive damages?
A: Well, what does he have? Let me put it this way: That decision hasn't been made.
Q: Do you think your clients will suffer from psychological problems until they die?
A: Until they get the treatment that they need so that they can get closure. Treatment really does help.
Q: What's next for you?
A: I'm sure glad it's over, and I can go to Shaniko (a town in north-central Oregon) with my ATV and my daughter. I just drive my ATV, with my helmet on, and look for wild boars to hunt. I need to go kill something.
agustafs@StatesmanJournal.com or (503) 399-6709
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