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Friday, September 03, 2010

Ind. Courts - More on "Indianapolis Archdiocese ends priest abuse lawsuit with first cash settlement"

Updating this ILB entry from May 12, 2010, Robert King of the Indianapolis Star has another story today, reporting on Joe Doe RG's settlement of a lawsuit against the Archdiocese of Indianapolis. A quote from today's story:

Now, almost five years after filing the lawsuit that started it all, John Doe RG has reached a financial agreement with the Archdiocese of Indianapolis that compensates him for medical treatment associated with his abuse and covers the legal fees associated with his lawsuit.

The exact amount of the settlement wasn't disclosed, but archdiocesan attorney Jay Mercer said it was less than the $199,000 the church paid in May to settle another lawsuit associated with Monroe.

The May 12th Star story, involving a different "John Doe," was similar:
In a move unprecedented for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Indianapolis, the church has agreed to a cash settlement with someone who has brought a lawsuit alleging sexual abuse by a priest -- adding Indianapolis' name to the list of American dioceses to take a financial hit in the ongoing scandal.

The $199,000 settlement is small compared with some of the multimillion-dollar deals reached elsewhere around the country. But the agreement with a 48-year-old Indianapolis man involves a former priest who is still the subject of 12 pending lawsuits by other alleged victims.

In this case, a plaintiff known in court papers only as John Doe CT claimed that when he was 14 then-priest Harry Monroe repeatedly abused him sexually while both were at St. Catherine Catholic Church on the city's Southside. St. Catherine merged with another parish in 1993 to form what is now Good Shepherd.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on September 3, 2010 09:44 AM
Posted to Indiana Courts