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	Clergy Abuse Payout Approved Covington Diocese Settlement Sets Guarantee at $40 Million By Peter Smith The Courier-Journal [Burlington KY] July 6, 2005 BURLINGTON, Ky. -- A judge in Northern Kentucky yesterday said he would give preliminary approval to what could become the largest sexual abuse settlement in a Roman Catholic diocese in the United States. Judge John Potter said he would approve the plan now because it only guarantees $40 million rather than a publicized figure of $120 million, even though the total could go that high. Lawyers for the Diocese of Covington and the victims revised the draft of their agreement after Potter criticized the original draft last month, calling it a "sound bite" because it promised more money than either side could guarantee would be available. The draft now says victims would be eligible for a fund of "up to $120 million," but it spells out that the diocese has guaranteed $40 million out of its own assets. The other $80 million would be available only if the diocese recovers that amount in a pending lawsuit against two of its insurers. The money would go to an as-yet-unknown number of victims of sexual abuse by priests in the diocese. Potter said he probably would grant approval by July 15, though he said he would make minor changes in its wording. That will start a process in which lawyers representing the victims will advertise widely in secular and Catholic media, asking anyone victimized by a priest in the diocese to come forward and make a claim by Nov. 10. Stan Chesley, the lead lawyer on behalf of the victims, said he would set up a Web site and a toll-free phone number for victims to call. The Web site address, he said, would be www.covingtonkydioceseabuse.com; the toll-free number is still being set up. Potter scheduled a hearing in January for anyone challenging the fairness of the class-action settlement. Final approval would come after that hearing. Sides happy with deal All sides yesterday praised the agreement. Richard Lillick, 63, a retired public school teacher, said he would be filing a claim for alleged abuse by a priest nearly 50 years ago. "We're seeing justice done," said Lillick, who spoke to reporters after attending the hearing. "It's not only that our lawyers and the diocese have reached an agreement for financial compensation. We're being told that we are being treated with dignity." He said one result of the lawsuit is that "a number of molesters who were still in service have been removed." The diocese, he said, has begun "to root out a very grotesque cancer." Chesley said the settlement sets aside some funds for counseling for future victims who come forward. He said the new settlement now makes "crystal clear" that only the $40 million is guaranteed. Pending lawsuit The diocese has a pending federal lawsuit against two of its insurers, seeking to obtain settlement funds from them. The lawyer for one of those firms appeared in court and said the parties have been moving toward a settlement. Diocesan lawyer Carrie Huff added that the settlement was "amicable." "We have really come to see the issues in the same way," she said. She added that one advantage of the settlement is that it would clear the way for more victims to meet with Bishop Roger Foys directly. Foys has already met with several victims who have settled separately. "There really isn't any such thing as pastoral litigation," she said. Chesley continued to claim that there are a "large" number of victims eligible for the settlement but said he is "not going to discuss" how many have contacted him. He said lawyers reached the $120 million figure by working with statisticians, mental-health professionals and other experts. The settlement has a "reversion clause" that returns any money to the diocese that isn't claimed. "We don't want any more than what the costs are" to meet the victims' needs, Chesley said. The diocese reported last year that it had received 205 allegations against 35 priests over the past 50 years. Some of those already have been settled. Under the settlement, victims could receive anywhere from $5,000 to $450,000 based on the severity of the abuse and other factors. In exceptional cases, a victim could receive an additional $550,000. The diocese plans to sell property and use investment savings to fund the $40 million toward the settlement.