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	Sex Abuse Cases Heading for Court By William McCall The Associated Press, carried in OregonLive.com [Portland OR] April 17, 2006 http://www.oregonlive.com/newsflash/regional/index.ssf? /base/news-14/1145314460212970.xml&storylist=orlocal PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — After stopping a flood of priest sex abuse lawsuits with the first bankruptcy ever filed by a Roman Catholic diocese two years ago, nearly 130 cases are now heading for court. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Elizabeth Perris on Monday cleared the way for alleged victims of abuse to go to trial after waiting almost two years for a settlement with the Archdiocese of Portland. The archdiocese and its creditors — the alleged victims — have both drafted settlement plans but have been unable to agree. Monday was the deadline for deciding whether to go to court, and 88 victims chose to have their cases heard in federal court while nearly 40 are headed to state court, said Erin Olson, attorney for several alleged victims. Nearly all the cases referred to state court resulted from alleged abuse by prison chaplains at the MacLaren School for Boys, the state facility for juvenile offenders, Olson said. Perris said Monday she hopes that trials will help speed a possible settlement. Individual cases, however, can be settled at any time. Al Kennedy, the attorney for the bankruptcy committee representing all the abuse victims, complained to Perris that the archdiocese has avoided settling in an effort to limit its liability. Perris cut him off to move on to other issues in the complex case, saying she would consider arguments at another hearing. The case that triggered the bankruptcy has already been scheduled to be heard in October by U.S. District Judge Michael Mosman. The $135 million lawsuit by a man identified only by the initials "C.B." claims he was molested in the early 1980s in Seaside by the Rev. Maurice Grammond, who has been accused by a number of other victims. Attorneys had been prepared to argue that archdiocese officials knew that Grammond was sexually abusing children for more than 20 years but simply moved him from parish to parish in response. Church officials have denied the claim while lawyers for the archdiocese have called the evidence unreliable. Meanwhile, Perris ruled on a series of motions on estimating the cost of settling the cases in order to come up with a reorganization plan for the archdiocese. She warned attorneys that she will not sign off on a plan until she is satisfied with the estimate required for the archdiocese. "The reality is we won't be confirming a plan unless they (the archdiocese) can prove they can pay," Perris said. David Slader, another attorney for alleged victims, said the archdiocese has already spent more than $10 million on legal costs associated with the bankruptcy. "That $10 million would have brought a lot of healing to a lot of people," Slader said. Despite the complex motions and hearings in the case, Slader said it boils down to two simple questions: "How much do they owe and how much can they pay?" "How something so simple could turn into something so complicated is one of the great questions in this case," he said.
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