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	Clergy Abuse Plaintiffs Face Bumpy Road to Settlements TheBostonChannel.com March 10, 2006 http://www.thebostonchannel.com/news/7886168/detail.html BOSTON -- Lawyers for 88 people who agreed to settle clergy sex abuse lawsuits against the Boston Archdiocese for an average of $75,000 each complained that they weren't treated as well as 554 people who received more than twice that amount in 2003. But for another 100 people who are still waiting to settle their lawsuits with the Roman Catholic archdiocese, the road to settlement is bound to be much more difficult, lawyers involved in the cases said Friday. The archdiocese has split those claims into two groups. About 30 of those alleged victims will be offered arbitration to settle their claims for the same monetary terms as the first group of 88, with a low of $5,000, a high of $200,000 and an average of $75,000. But claimants in this group must first prove to an arbitrator that their claims of abuse are credible. For the group of 88, the archdiocese agreed to accept their claims and left only the amounts to be decided by the arbitrator. Kelly Lynch, a spokeswoman for the archdiocese, said that in the 30 cases, "we do not presently have a sufficient basis to determine whether or not the sexual abuse likely occurred." Attorney Alan Cantor, who represents five people who fall into this category, said these claims are mainly against priests who have not been named in previous lawsuits. He said his clients resent having to convince an arbitrator that they were abused. "I have some clients who are quite upset by the distinction being made that they need to actually prove the abuse occurred while the others don't have that burden," he said. The remaining group of about 70 plaintiffs may not ever see settlements with the archdiocese. This group, which is not being offered any form of arbitration, includes people who claim they were abused by priests of religious orders or lay employees of the archdiocese, as well as people who were 18 or older when the alleged abuse took place. In those cases, the archdiocese says it will not offer arbitration. Mitchell Garabedian, an attorney for 22 of the 70 people in this group, said the archdiocese has made it clear that at this point it is not willing to settle with these plaintiffs. "The archdiocese seems to be washing their hands of (these plaintiffs), and that's just painful for the victims," Garabedian said. Lynch said the archdiocese hopes to resolve those claims "on a case-by-case basis" after the arbitrated claims are settled. Attorney Mark Itzkowitz, who represents two people who claim they were abused by priests of Roman Catholic religious orders, said he understands the archdiocese's reluctance to settle those claims. He said he has also named the religious orders as defendants. "At this point, (the archdiocese's) position is if they are a member of an order, we're not saying (the alleged victims) shouldn't be compensated, we're saying it's the order who should be paying them and not us," he said. Charles Zech, an economics professor at Villanova University who studies church finances, said it's not surprising that the archdiocese would offer less money and refuse to settle some of the claims since it paid out $85 million in 2003 to settle 554 lawsuits. The archdiocese has repeatedly said its financial condition has significantly worsened since the initial global settlement, which paid out an average of about $155,000 per plaintiff. "You are bound to have later victims that won't get the settlements the earlier victims got because the money isn't there anymore," said Zech. "Almost every diocese that has reached a settlement has heard from other victims who've come forward after the settlements," he said. "I think it's totally economics to offer later plaintiffs less," he said.
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