Priest Public Nuisance Claim May Proceed, Ramsey County Judge Rules

By Emily Gurnon
Pioneer Press
December 10, 2013

http://www.twincities.com/crime/ci_24694833/ramsey-county-nuisance-claims-against-catholic-church-may

A Ramsey County judge has ruled that an alleged sexual abuse victim's nuisance claims against the Catholic Church may proceed.

A man identified as John Doe 1 filed suit in May alleging he was abused by Thomas Adamson, and that the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis and the Diocese of Winona failed to respond adequately.

Adamson had admitted to molesting boys in the Winona diocese, yet was transferred to the Twin Cities archdiocese and allowed to work at St. Thomas Aquinas parish in St. Paul Park, among other locations, with no warning to families, according to the suit.

It was at St. Thomas Aquinas that Adamson abused Doe 1, the lawsuit alleges.

The victim alleges that the diocese and archdiocese created a public nuisance by concealing Adamson's history and that of other priest offenders from the community. He also alleges their actions constituted a private nuisance by leading to his sexual abuse.

The diocese and archdiocese asked the court to toss out the nuisance claims.

Judge John Van de North agreed in an order Tuesday that the public nuisance claim should go forward, though he described his decision as a "close call."

That type of claim has "historically been reserved to government entities," he said. For private parties to sue for public nuisance, the Minnesota Supreme Court has held that "they must allege some special or peculiar damage not common to the general public."

Van de North said "it is plausible" that Doe 1 may be able to make his case about public damages at trial.

Jeff Anderson, attorney for the plaintiff, said it was the first time nationally that nuisance claims have been used in a clergy sex abuse case to force disclosure of abusers and the church officials who allegedly protected them.

"We felt we needed to use a legal vehicle to force this disclosure more immediately" than normally would happen in a typical case, Anderson said.

He added that the decision is a precedent specifically for other courts examining the issue in the dioceses of New Ulm, Crookston and Duluth.

Jim Accurso, spokesman for the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, said it was pleased with the judge's order and called it "a significant setback for Jeff Anderson and his clients."

The judge agreed in his order Tuesday to dismiss the private nuisance claims, saying such claims must involve property.

And he "left the door open" for the public nuisance claims to be dismissed at a later date, Accurso said.

In the nuisance claims, Doe 1 is not seeking money damages. Instead, he wants the diocese and archdiocese to publicly release their lists of "credibly accused" child-molesting priests, each priest's history of abuse, each priest's pattern of grooming and sexual behavior, and the last known address for each man.

Van de North on Dec. 2 ordered the names of the credibly accused priests from a 2004 study to be released, along with birthdates, parishes where they were assigned and other information. The archdiocese released its list Thursday. The Diocese of Winona has until Dec. 17 to release its names.

Both entities object, however, to the release of the additional information, such as abuse history.

Emily Gurnon can be reached at 651-228-5522. Follow her at twitter.com/emilygurnon.