Church says it won't use 'Ellis defense' in sex abuse cases, by Megan Hamilton, Digital Journal (May 19, 2015)

Ballarat - After conferring with the archbishops of Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane, Francis Sullivan, head of the Catholic Church's Truth, Justice and Healing Council, reiterated their pledge to keep the Ellis defense in the past and not the present or future.

Sullivan's comments arrive just as the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse (RCIRCSA) began hearings on Monday regarding cases of abuse in Ballarat, CathNews reports.

What is the Ellis defense? John Ellis was an altar boy who suffered sexual abuse during the 1970s, and when he tried to sue the church over the abuse, the courts rejected the claim, ruling that the Church wasn't a legal entity, and it wasn't liable for abuse committed by a priest, A.M. reports. This was labeled the "Ellis defense" and the Catholic Church has used this tactic for years to avoid making payments to those who are survivors of sexual abuse, A.M. reports. There's been conflicting reports about what the Church was planning to do, and earlier on Monday, The Age reported that the Church was planning to use this controversial defense. The decision, handed down by the New South Wales Court of Appeal, ended a lengthy battle for Ellis, a lawyer based in Sydney, CathNews reports. The RCIRCSA examined Ellis' case in March of last year. At the public hearing, Cardinal George Pell, the former Archbishop of Sydney, was asked if the Ellis defense should still be used. "I was suggesting that we set up a corporation sole," he said. "That corporation sole would have a perpetuity and would appoint and supervise people so that if their successors — if, God forbid, there were any other Mr. Ellises — would have somebody to sue."

For his part, Ellis says it appears the Church may not have talked to its insurers prior to making the pledge to quit using the defense. "An area where it does arise is where people have entered into a deed in the matter that was settled by Catholic Church Insurance," he said. "Often these people would've had a very small payment because a variant of the Ellis defense was raised against them when they brought their claim." The Age reports that resolving the outstanding and future sexual abuse compensation claims is likely to cost the dioceses and orders — or insurers — hundreds of millions of dollars, sources says. Sullivan says it's "quite clear" what the church's policy should now be in relation to the Ellis defense. "Lawyers for the church have to get with the program,' he said. "Our advice is that an entity must be made available to be sued which has insurance or sufficient assets to cover the claims."