Three in Kos case settle for $7.5
million By PAMELA
SCHAEFFER, NCR Staff
Three of 11 former altar boys who faced off
against the Dallas diocese in a sex abuse trial last summer have agreed to a
settlement of $7.5 million, a fraction of what they were awarded by a
jury.
The jury had awarded 11 plaintiffs a historic total of $119.6
million, or an average of $10.8 million each, concurring that the diocese had
been guilty of gross negligence, fraud and reckless disregard for the safety of
others during years of sexual abuse by then-priest Rudolph Rudy
Kos.
Later this month, Kos, 52, will stand trial for eight criminal
sex-abuse charges involving four young men who told police that Kos molested
them more than 1,350 times when they were children. Kos has pleaded not
guilty.
As part of the $7.5 million settlement in the civil case, one of
the plaintiffs, Robert Hultz, 26, will have a private meeting with Dallas
Bishop Charles Grahmann. Hultz, who has been undergoing intensive therapy since
the trial ended, has long wished for such a meeting, saying it would help bring
closure to a painful chapter of his life.
The jury had awarded Hultz $13.2 million for his injuries. The
distribution of funds under the settlement, reached March 4 in court-ordered
mediation, remains undisclosed.
Settlement funds will be paid by the diocese ($3.1 million) and
two insurance companies, Lloyds of London and Interstate Fire & Casualty
Co. ($4.4 million). The diocese, which has paid an estimated $3 million in
legal fees so far, plans to fund its share of the settlement by selling
undeveloped land.
Sylvia Demarest, lawyer for the three plaintiffs who settled, said
she considered the agreement to be in the best interests of her clients, given
the risks of continued litigation. I think this was the best deal we
could get under the circumstances, she said. Risks include the likelihood
of appeal. A higher court could substantially reduce the amount of the judgment
or order a new trial, she said. Further, the diocese has threatened expanded
litigation and bankruptcy if efforts are made to seize parish properties.
Officials contend that parish and school properties are not owned by the
diocese but held in trust for parishioners.
The diocese could easily end up in bankruptcy in this
case, Demarest said. We dont feel thats in the best
interest of our clients. She noted that diocesan costs so far had already
exceeded costs of a proposed pretrial settlement. We would have been
willing to settle for much less than a million dollars per plaintiff, she
said.
Eight other plaintiffs represented by lawyer Windle Turley are
still in negotiations that, if unsuccessful, could still result in that portion
of the case being appealed.
Demarest said her clients feel the settlement will give the
plaintiffs some financial security and would allow them to get on with their
lives. Her clients say the primary legal targets were Kos and the diocesan
administrators who failed to act to stop his abusive behavior, not ordinary
parishioners. Her clients, she said, did not want to become adversaries
with the parishioners and school children of this city. They did not want to be
cast as enemies.
Tony Miglini, 26, one of the three plaintiffs involved in the
settlement, said he didnt want the diocese to be crippled by the payouts.
We feel we got our point across, he told The Dallas Morning
News. The church does a lot of good things. I think they needed to
hear our message loud and clear, and I think they did.
Grahmann returned from an international ecumenical meeting in Rome
for the final round of mediation with Demarests clients. In a written
statement, he thanked her for helping to end this long period of
sadness. He said he hoped the other eight cases would soon be resolved.
During this Lenten season we are struggling to have healing and justice
for the victims of abuse, he said. We have asked all Catholics to
pray for victims and to seek ways to prevent abuse occurring anywhere in our
community.
Testimony in the criminal trial is scheduled to begin the week of
March 23.
National Catholic Reporter, March 20,
1998
|