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	Deal Close in Archdiocese Abuse Cases, Lawyers Say By Gillian Flaccus The Associated Press, carried in Ventura County Star September 30, 2006 http://www.venturacountystar.com/vcs/state/article/0,1375,VCS_122_5033262,00.html Los Angeles — Dozens of people claiming they were abused by priests in the nation's largest Roman Catholic archdiocese would divide $60 million under a settlement on the verge of completion, several attorneys said. The settlement being drafted by attorneys for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and the alleged victims would give 45 claimants a total of $60 million, said Venus Soltan, a plaintiffs' attorney. The settlement would encompass alleged victims whose claims are not covered by the church's insurance policies, she said. If distributed equally, each alleged victim would get $1.3 million, although how the money would be divided remained unclear. "We are in the final stages of documentation, and the settlement should be coming public within a week," said Soltan, who represents two of the people who would receive money under the agreement. "It's a very big deal because it's the first time Los Angeles has settled any of its cases." An attorney for the priests and another plaintiffs' attorney confirmed those figures in interviews this week and said a deal is likely within a week. The 45 cases are a fraction of the more than 500 clergy abuse lawsuits filed against the archdiocese since 2003, when alleged victims were allowed to file lawsuits under a state law that peeled back the statute of limitations on sexual abuse claims for one year. Archdiocese spokesman Tod Tamberg acknowledged Friday that both sides were working hard on a deal but said similar negotiations with the uninsured cases fell apart last year. "Talks are ongoing. We're trying to settle the uninsured cases, that's no secret. Last month, people were saying it was going to happen within days," Tamberg said. "I've seen so many stops and starts along the way and I wouldn't hazard a guess at all." Second-largest payout in state The potential deal would be the most significant step to date toward resolving extensive litigation that has dragged on for years. It would represent the second-largest clergy abuse payout in California and the fourth-largest in the nation, according to an Associated Press review of known settlements. "We're aware that they've been working very hard, both the lawyers for the church and the plaintiffs' lawyers, and they're very close," said Donald Steier, an attorney who represents accused priests, including some whose cases would be included in the proposed settlement. Those familiar with the cases said the settlement would resolve claims by people who say they were abused before the early 1950s and after 1987, when insurers stopped covering molestation. Attorneys cautioned, however, that several things could cause the fragile agreement to collapse, including a dispute over the release of confidential priest personnel files. Plaintiffs' attorneys have said in the past that they would not agree to any settlement without securing the public release of those files. Attorneys for the individual priests, however, are likely to fight to keep the records private. Ann Sargent of Ojai, who is part of another class-action suit against the church, was surprised but hopeful when she heard of the potential settlement. "I've been a part of this class action for more than three years and was told in the very beginning it could be years before it's over," Sargent said, speaking from her family's second home in Washington state. Heartened by the possibility Sargent, who claims she was molested by the Rev. Roderic M. Guerrini when he served at Santa Clara Church in Oxnard in the late 1970s, said it is heartening to hear of a potential settlement because it indicates the matter might be coming to an end, even though it comes in small bits and pieces. Mary Grant, spokeswoman for the Survivors' Network of Those Abused by Priests, said she hoped the proposed deal would come through. "We want victims to be cautious, we don't want them to get hurt again," she said. "It's not settled until it's signed." The news of a possible deal comes as the first round of civil lawsuits is being prepared for trial. The first one goes to court in late November. Attorneys for the archdiocese and plaintiffs last year selected 44 cases for trial from among the hundreds in hopes that jury verdicts in those cases would provide a better idea of the church's liability. Some victims' attorneys have estimated that a settlement encompassing all the cases could surpass $1 billion. Sex abuse by Roman Catholic priests has cost the U.S. church at least $1.5 billion since 1950. Several American dioceses have reached multimillion-dollar settlements with victims in the past few years, as bishops have tried to resolve the crisis and move on. The Diocese of Orange agreed to the largest payout to date — $100 million for 90 people — in December 2004. The Archdiocese of Boston agreed to pay $85 million to 552 claimants in 2003 and the Diocese of Covington, Ky., this year agreed to pay $84 million to settle hundreds of cases. In California alone, dioceses have paid at least $245 million in the past several years, including a $35 million by the Diocese of Sacramento and a $56 million by the Diocese of Oakland.
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