MINNESOTA
Star Tribune
Article by: PAUL WALSH , Star Tribune Updated: November 25, 2014
The insurers say that the policies don’t apply because the abuse incidents are not “accidents.”
The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis has hit a major roadblock in its pledge to pay damages to victims of clergy sex abuse: Its insurance companies are refusing to cover the costs.
Now the archdiocese is going to federal court to ask a judge to set standards for the eight insurance companies to start meeting the terms of the “substantial” amount of insurance it bought “to cover the type of injuries” suffered by the clergy abuse claimants.
The lawsuit Monday by the Roman Catholic archdiocese involves at least 20 victims’ suits against the archdiocese and other “notices of claim” that have been filed since Minnesota enacted the “Child Victims Act” last year, which allowed older child abuse cases to be heard in civil court. The act also gave victims three years to sue.
In letters to the archdiocese, insurers explain that the policies do not apply because the abuse incidents are not “accidents” and “occurrences” but acts that caused harm that were expected or intended. An archdiocese attorney added that monetary limits on how much a policy covers also were in dispute.
“So far, we have not been able to reach a global resolution with all the insurance companies,” Archbishop John Nienstedt said in a statement issued Tuesday. Nienstedt said he hopes the legal action “will encourage the insurance companies … to help us achieve an equitable settlement for victims/survivors of clergy sexual abuse.”
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