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	Boston Archdiocese, Insurer Settle Claims USA Today March 8, 2005 BOSTON (AP) — The Archdiocese of Boston has settled with one of its former insurance carriers over claims related to lawsuits from alleged clergy abuse victims. The archdiocese and Lumbermens Mutual Casualty Company filed notice of the settlement, dated Feb. 9, in federal court Monday, stating all of the church's claims against the insurer would be dismissed. The archdiocese sued Lumbermens in March 2004 for alleged fraud and breach of contract after the company refused to pay for more than $59 million in claims. Lumbermens countersued, arguing the church owed the company money. "We are pleased to have this matter resolved," the Rev. John Connolly, special assistant to Archbishop Sean O'Malley, said in a statement. "We are hopeful that, in the near future, we will be in a position to begin discussions about how to resolve pending cases." Lumbermens, the lead underwriter of Kemper Insurance Cos. group, paid the archdiocese $20 million last week after the church finance council approved the settlement, according to two sources familiar with the agreement who spoke on condition of anonymity. Linda Kingman, a spokeswoman for Kemper, declined to comment. Kelly Lynch, a spokeswoman for the archdiocese, said O'Malley "expects to discuss the financial terms of this agreement at some point in the near future." The archdiocese reached an $85 million settlement over more than 540 sexual abuse claims in September 2003, agreeing to pay plaintiffs varying amounts. It calculated $59.3 million of the settlement related to periods when Lumbermens was the church's sole insurer, and another $7.7 million arose from periods when Lumbermens' coverage overlapped with another insurer. The archdiocese is still negotiating with the other insurer over abuse claims.
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