Diocese, victim ask insurance companies to uphold policies in lawsuit

St. Cloud Times (MN)

March 02--Two lawsuits are hoping to make insurance companies cooperate in compensating victims of child sexual abuse in the Diocese of St. Cloud.

The diocese and a victim of child sexual abuse are asking insurance companies to uphold policies they've issued in past decades, said Josh Peck, an attorney with Jeff Anderson and Associates and a representative of victims making child sexual abuse claims against the diocese.

Catholic Mutual Insurance Company has also filed a lawsuit in federal court.

Both lawsuits are against other insurance companies ask a judge to determine which companies are responsible for compensating victims of child sexual abuse.

RELATED: Outcome for church abuse victims unclear after bankruptcy announcement

In both suits, the judge is asked to determine whether policies issued by the companies cover the sexual abuse claims facing the diocese.

Earlier this week, the diocese announced it plans to file for bankruptcy amid numerous pending lawsuits regarding child sexual abuse.

Victims filed more than 70 claims of abuse after a state law temporarily lifted the statute of limitations for civil claims of sexual abuse against minors. Before that, the diocese had seen less than a dozen claims.

The outcome of these two cases is very important to how the survivors may be treated now that the Diocese of St. Cloud has announced plans to file for bankruptcy, Peck said.

Multiple insurance companies are involved because of the long span of time during which the sexual abuse is alleged to have taken place. The diocese changed general liability policies and companies over the years.

Insurance companies argue over what constitutes an abuse, an occurrence of abuse and other detailed information to decide which company is responsible for compensating those victims.

"Insurance companies use those arguments to avoid the responsibilities," Peck said.

RELATED: 74 claims of clergy abuse push Diocese of St. Cloud to file for bankruptcy

This week, a survivor of child sexual abuse in the diocese petitioned the court to join both lawsuits. Doe 524, the only way the man is identified in public court documents, was abused by a Catholic clergy member when he was an altar boy at Holy Cross Parish in Onamia in the 1960s and 1970s.

Jeff Anderson, a lawyer and representative of abuse victims, said Doe 524's participation was important "to make those insurance companies abide by their commitments to the diocese, and to ensure the diocese will abide by its responsibility to the dozens of kids just like him who were so seriously hurt under the its watch."

A hearing March 29 will determine whether Doe 524 will be able to join the lawsuits.

Motions to dismiss have been filed in both lawsuits by the insurance companies in question. A judge will hear the motion regarding Catholic Mutual's case next Wednesday.

It's unclear how long it may take to resolve both of these lawsuits.

Representatives from the Diocese of St. Cloud and Catholic Mutual Relief Society of America declined to comment for this story.

Requests for comment from the Diocese of St. Cloud, Arrowood Indemnity Company, the Order of St. Benedict, Continental Insurance Company, St. Paul Fire and Marine Insurance Company, Travelers Indemnity Company, Church Mutual Insurance Company and Hartford Accident and Indemnity Company were not immediately returned.

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