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	Clergy Abuse Lawsuit Hits Bump Judge Says Action Naming Spitzer, Counseling Service Can Be Refiled after Changes By Dan Higgins Albany Times Union October 2, 2006 http://timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=521828&category=REGIONOTHER&BCCode=&newsdate=10/2/2006 Albany -- A lawsuit aimed at the state attorney general and a counseling service for victims of clergy abuse must be refiled in federal court this month after a judge dismissed portions of it. Chief U.S. District Judge Norman A. Mordue removed Attorney General Eliot Spitzer as a defendant in the suit, but said many of its claims could proceed once it is amended and resubmitted. The 2005 suit takes aim at the New York State Dispute Resolution Association, which set up a mediation service at the request of the Albany Roman Catholic Diocese for people who had been abused by clergy. The suit claims the program engaged in fraud because it is not truly independent as it has claimed. The complaint was filed by attorney John Aretakis on behalf of three men: Randall Sweringen, a 39-year-old former priest who was sexually abused by a priest while a student at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute; David Wilson; and a man identified as John Doe. The lawsuit alleged the center cannot be independent because the diocese pays the Albany law firm Whiteman, Ostermann and Hanna, to administer it. Aretakis wanted the court to force the attorney general's office to investigate the alleged conflicts, as well as allegations of fraud and negligence related to the case. In his Thursday decision, Mordue said Spitzer has discretion over whether to pursue a case, and this suit offered no evidence that would allow a court to force the attorney general to act. Aretakis called the decision a victory because "the court would have dismissed claims without any legal merit." Lisa Hicks, the Dispute Resolution Association's executive director, was out of town and unavailable for comment on Sunday. When the suit was first filed, though, she said it was without merit. She said Aretakis was "seeking to dismantle the only independent program that provides assistance to victims of abuse." A spokesman for the diocese declined to comment, saying the diocese is not a party to the case.
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