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	Abuse Victims Can Sue for Fraud State Justices Allow Cases in Priest Coverups By Marie Rohde and Tom Heinen Milwaukee Journal Sentinel [Wisconsin] July 11, 2007 http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=632054 The Wisconsin Supreme Court on Wednesday opened the door for adults who were childhood victims of sexual abuse by priests to sue the Catholic Church in the state for fraud but not for negligence, an issue that divided the court. While scores of lawsuits have been brought against the church across the country, a lawyer for the plaintiffs in the Milwaukee lawsuit that the justices revived said he believes this may be the first time cases have been allowed to proceed based on fraud allegations. In the decision written by Justice Patience Drake Roggensack, the court ruled unanimously that the church could be sued for fraud because it knowingly placed priests with records of sexually abusing minors in parishes without alerting the congregation or others to the danger. While the most recent abuse in the Milwaukee lawsuit occurred in 1982, and the statute of limitations on fraud cases normally expires within six years, the opinion opens the door until 2010 for the filing of such lawsuits, according to James Smith, a lawyer representing victims. The victims claim that they did not fully realize the extent of the church's involvement in the coverup of abusive priests until 2004, when cases against the same priests in the Milwaukee lawsuit - Siegfried Widera and Franklyn Becker - went to court in California. Both Widera and Becker had served in parishes in the Milwaukee Archdiocese after they had been accused of abusing children and before they were moved to California. Last year the archdiocese settled the California cases for $16.65 million, of which about half was paid by insurance. As of a year ago, the archdiocese said, it had also spent about $14.2 million on other matters involving clergy sex abuse. Officials said the money came from the Properties and Building Fund and insurance reimbursements. 2 favor negligence angle The ruling upheld earlier decisions that barred victims from suing the church for negligent supervision of priests, but two justices - Chief Justice Shirley S. Abrahamson and Ann Walsh Bradley - dissented on that point, saying that the victims should have an opportunity to prove the church's negligence in court. Jeff Anderson, a St. Paul, Minn., lawyer who has represented many victims in Wisconsin, said the negligence decision should serve as a "clarion call to the Wisconsin Legislature" to enact a law that would give victims of past abuse a window of opportunity to bring suit against the church for negligent supervision of its priests, much like the two-year window enacted recently by Delaware. Peter Isely, Midwest director of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, known as SNAP, said, "I think the court is sending a signal to lawmakers in Madison, 'We're not going to fix this situation of child protection for you. This is how we read your laws that you have enacted. If you want to change it, you'd better fix it.' And I think that's exactly what's going to happen. That's our hope. Over the next year, there's legislation that's going to be introduced. I'm quite sure of it, soon." The Wisconsin decision will allow lawyers for sexual abuse victims in the Milwaukee lawsuit to question church leaders under oath and obtain church records about what church leaders knew, when they knew it and what they did about it. Ruling called 'historic' "It's historic," Isely said of the fraud ruling. "It means that in these cases, and potential other cases, victims and plaintiffs are going to be able to finally have the legal rights and the legal tools we need to get documents and force bishops to answer questions under oath as to their systematic policy of transferring . . . men and women that they knew were child rapists and dangerous to the community." While the decision involves four victims, now all adults, Smith said he believes it could open a path for many other cases in Wisconsin. He said that if the assertion that the depth of the church's involvement was not known until 2004, that would mean that the six-year statute of limitations on fraud cases would not expire until 2010. Kathleen Hohl, a spokeswoman for the archdiocese, issued a prepared statement that reads, "We respect the Supreme Court's decision and will abide by it. Our legal counsel will begin preparing for the next steps in the legal process. The Archdiocese of Milwaukee remains committed to continuing our work on the issue of clergy sexual abuse. We apologize to all those who have been affected by clergy sexual abuse, especially victims/survivors and their families. We also renew our promise to protect the children and young people in our community from sexual abuse." SNAP has long deplored that Wisconsin is the only state in the country where victims abused years ago have been virtually barred from suing the church because of court decisions issued in 1995 and 1997. Smith said he was involved in negotiations with the archdiocese for a group of victims three or four years ago that could have resolved the cases "for far less than what it will result in now." He said the negotiations fell through because the archdiocese was "disingenuous" in its negotiations. "The attorney fees for the archdiocese are astronomical," Smith said. Archbishop's statement In a prepared statement sent to church leaders, Milwaukee Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan said "the tragedy of clergy sexual abuse of children and, perhaps even more, the failure in the past of some within the church to deal decisively with it long ago, will always be an ugly stain on our history." He said the church was preparing to go back to court to continue the litigation but did not say whether it would attempt to negotiate an out-of-court settlement or comment on the fiscal impact of the ongoing litigation. Wednesday's decision involved three lawsuits filed against Widera and one involving Becker. The victims in the Widera case, all unnamed, claimed they were abused from 1973 to 1976 by Widera, who had earlier been convicted criminally of abusing children. After the conviction, Widera was moved from a Port Washington parish to St. Andrew's in Delavan. Archdiocesan authorities were informed that he molested an altar boy in Delavan, and the priest admitted he had made "a slip." According to notes kept by the archdiocese, a decision was made to "try to keep the lid on the things, so no police record would be made." When Widera was moved to California in 1976, people were told that he was going on vacation. Widera went on the run in 2002 as prosecutors in California and Wisconsin were preparing more than 30 felony sexual abuse charges against him. In 2003, Widera jumped to his death from a hotel balcony in Mexico as law enforcement agents closed in on him. The case involving Becker was brought in 2005 by Charles Linneman, who alleged that he was abused in 1982. Linneman, 39, said Wednesday, "It's a great relief, and I'm very excited about it. I'm pleased that the archdiocese is going to have to be held accountable and they can't hide behind the laws in Wisconsin. . . . This is a big victory, not just the fact that my case will be heard, but it opens the door for other victims in Wisconsin to get justice for what's happened to them." Linneman now lives in Sugar Grove, Ill., and teaches eighth grade at a public school in the area. Becker was defrocked by the church and is living in Wisconsin. Further proceedings ordered Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Michael D. Guolee dismissed the cases on a motion filed by the church that asserted that the lawsuits were barred because of the earlier decisions that the church could not be sued because of negligent supervision and that the fraud claims had expired. The high court's decision said the fraud claims are too complex to be dismissed on a motion and ordered further proceedings. The main issue to be decided, the court said, is whether the archdiocese had an obligation to disclose the abusive priests' history and whether the victims "had exercised reasonable diligence" in an attempt to determine whether the church had covered up the actions of the abusers. Contact: Marie Rohde mrohde@journalsentinel.com
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