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	Sexual Abuse Lawsuit against Diocese Continues By Allen Essex The Monitor March 25, 2010 http://www.themonitor.com/articles/sexual-36758-abuse-brownsville.html BROWNSVILLE — A judge on Wednesday denied a motion by plaintiffs seeking summary judgment in a long-running lawsuit against the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brownsville over allegations of sexual abuse of parochial school students. Manuel Ortiz Munoz has been accused of molesting three boys from one family and one boy from another family in 2004 at St. Anthony School, where Ortiz was a janitor. The motion denied Wednesday claimed the diocese does not have enough insurance to pay claims by the two families. A lawyer for the diocese argued that the plaintiffs’ attorney Lori Watson was trying to remove a cap limiting damages to $500,000-per-person, or $1 million in total liability. Authorities said one of the boys, age 12, died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound at his parents’ La Feria home in 2005, four days before he was scheduled to testify against Munoz in the criminal trial against him. Court records show three cases of indecency with a child are still pending against Munoz. Watson told state District Judge Migdalia Lopez she filed the motion after failing to see any progress during mediation sessions with diocese lawyers. Insurance policies submitted by the diocese’s attorneys do not appear to have sufficient coverage, the attorney said. Edmundo Ramirez, attorney for the diocese, said the claim of lack of insurance is baseless and that Watson was trying to use that as a reason to ask the court to remove the $500,000 cap on damages for each individual plaintiff. “We have insurance,” Ramirez said. “We are a charitable community organization.” The judge could set a trial date in the case — probably for sometime next year — or Lopez could order lawyers to return to mediation, Watson said outside the courtroom. The two sides also could voluntarily decide to return to mediation.
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