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	Judge Orders Lien on Burlington Diocese's Assets By Sam Hemingway Burlington Free Press November 5, 2009 http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/article/20091105/NEWS02/911050311/Judge-orders-lien-on-Burlington-diocese-s-assets A Burlington judge has ordered a lien to be placed on a portion of the state Roman Catholic diocese's investment portfolio to cover the $2.2 million a jury awarded last month to a former altar boy molested by a priest in the 1970s. Judge Helen Toor signed the lien order last week. Tuesday, a Chittenden Superior Court clerk sent a note to the church portfolio's manager at Chittenden Bank requesting that $2,728,000 be set aside to pay the verdict, pending the outcome of any appeals in the case. "You must retain that property for satisfaction of the final judgment in this case," the notice to the bank said. The figure includes the $2.2 million award and $528,000 in estimated interest charges if the Oct. 9 jury verdict is appealed to the Vermont Supreme Court. The decision to seek a lien on the diocese's investment fund was made by lawyers for the former altar boy. The Burlington Free Press does not publish the names of alleged victims of sexual abuse without their permission. The former altar boy alleged he was fondled by the Rev. Edward Paquette between 20 and 25 times at Christ the King Church in Burlington between 1976 and 1978. The diocese was sued in 2005 for negligently hiring and supervising Paquette. In two previous cases where juries gave multi-million dollar awards to Paquette victims, the lawyers sought and obtained liens on real estate owned by the diocese, including the site of its headquarters on North Avenue. John Evers, an attorney for the former altar boys, said the fluctuating values of church real estate prompted his law firm to seek a lien on the investment fund this time. "It was just simpler to seek the alternative of money that was sitting in a bank account," Ever said Wednesday. The diocese uses interest from its investment fund, believed to be worth in excess of $9 million, to pay for some of its programs and operations. "This will be just one more limitation placed on the diocese," Thomas McCormick, one of its lawyers, said of the impact of the lien. The diocese has not indicated whether it will appeal the jury's verdict in the latest case. Last month, it asked Toor to consider reducing the $2.2 million award to a lower amount or order a new trial in the case. The request was made in a filing that is being kept under seal by the court. McCormick said he could not discuss why the diocese's motion was sealed. Also, the diocese last month paid $134,540 to Evers' law firm to comply with an Oct. 9 Vermont Supreme Court decision ordering the payment as punishment for conduct by one of its lawyers during a 2007 clerical abuse trial. The incident involved a series of probing questions diocesan lawyer David Cleary asked of the plaintiff in the case, James Turner, about a relationship between the Rev. Alfred Willis and Turner's brother, who was also a priest. Turner's lawsuit alleged Willis molested him at a Latham, N.Y., motel. Judge Ben Joseph had issued a pre-trial order prohibiting discussion of Willis' relationship with Turner's brother and subsequently declared a mistrial in the case. Evers' law firm sought payment for its costs of preparing for the aborted trial, and the high court affirmed Joseph's decision approving the request. The diocese also provided Turner a $5,463 check to cover his own costs in connection with the case. A second Turner trial ended with a $15,000 verdict for Turner, but the Vermont Supreme Court, in its Oct. 9 opinion, reversed the verdict and ordered a new trial. Contact Sam Hemingway at 660-1850 or e-mail at shemingway@bfp.burlingtonfreepress.com. To have Free Press headlines delivered free to your e-mail, sign up at www.burlingtonfreepress.com/newsletters.
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