Abuse lawsuit principals watch Portland closely
People involved in sex-abuse lawsuits against the Spokane Diocese are watching the Portland case closely, but attorneys say situations are much different.
News that the Archdiocese of Portland filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy stunned Michael Ross, a vocal Spokane Diocese critic and co-founder of the local Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests.
Ross, who is not an attorney, speculated that the opening of church books to the legal system will reveal more clergy abuse.
“We had no idea they would consider opening their books to a third party to scrutinize their history,” Ross said Tuesday by phone. “This is quite a significant event.”
In Portland, the bankruptcy filing will put an immediate halt to a priest abuse case that was scheduled to go to trial Tuesday involving Rev. Maurice Grammond, who has been accused of molesting more than 50 boys from the early to mid-1980s.
“They may be stalling the process but the process will continue,” Ross said.
Portland’s Diocese has paid out $53 million to settle 130 alleged abuse cases that reach back more than 50 years.
The Spokane Diocese is currently the defendant in 17 lawsuits representing about 50 victims.
Pfau is handling the first scheduled trial on Nov. 29, which involves three brothers allegedly abused by Rev. Patrick O’Donnell, as reported in the past.
In April, the Spokane Diocese paid $30,000 to settle the case of a man who claimed he was molested decades ago as a youth in Walla Walla by August Ludwig. Five men have said Ludwig sexually abused them in the ‘70s while he was principal of De Sales Catholic High School.
Even as more cases unfold or are settled, it’s unlikely the Spokane Diocese could even qualify for bankruptcy due to its ample holdings, said attorney Michael Pfau.
The Rev. Steve Dublinski, vicar general of the Spokane Diocese, could not be reached for comment Tuesday.
Unlike Washington, Oregon allows punitive damages, which can generate court-ordered penalties reaching hundreds of millions of dollars, Pfau said.
“A jury in Washington would only reward (actual) damages,” Pfau said.
The Portland situation will likely be something of interest for legal scholars who may debate the role of the church in a government bankruptcy court.
“This is going to be new territory for us and constitutional scholars across the country,” Kosnoff said.
Lawyers representing churches and alleged abuse victims will likely be monitoring the case, Kosnoff said.
Last week in Spokane, a dozen lawsuits against the Spokane Diocese moved forward after a judge rejected the diocese’s motion to dismiss the cases. Spokane County Superior Court Judge Kathleen O’Connor’s decision came almost a month after Judge Maryann Moreno made the same ruling in a similar case.
During this last fiscal year, the sex-abuse scandal has cost the Spokane diocese $625,172, according to a Spokesman-Review story about the diocese’s finance report. More than half that amount – $346,068 – went to legal fees and $251,704 paid for a public relations firm. A total of $27,400 went toward victim’s counseling and assistance.
In December 2003, the Spokane Diocese reported 87 accusations of sexual abuse by Spokane priests – a figure much higher than the 48 in Dallas, which has an estimated Catholic population of 844,000 compared with Spokane’s 66,274. In the Archdiocese of St. Paul-Minneapolis, which has a Catholic population of 750,000, there were 69 accusations.