The Archdiocese of New York has agreed to pay more than $800 million to settle sexual abuse claims made by 1,300 people who said they were victimized by clergy members and lay people in positions of leadership in the Roman Catholic Church. Lawyers for the plaintiffs sent an email late Friday to the priests of the archdiocese announcing the planned settlement, The New York Times reported.
But all the alleged victims must sign off on the agreement before the archdiocese goes forward with the payout. Archbishop Ronald A. Hicks confirmed to the Times Saturday that the deal will not be finalized until all parties involved – the plaintiffs, the lawyers and the archdiocese – sign it. “We are on the verge of being able to, please God, bring some measure of healing and reconciliation to all victim-survivors,” he told the outlet. The settlement would give each plaintiff the option of receiving a lump-sum payment of at least $250,000— with some larger payouts possible after a review of the extent of the abuse plaintiffs have claimed to experience, the Times reported. Lawyers representing the purported victims warned their clients that if they don’t accept the settlement, the archdiocese will claim bankruptcy.
This would likely lead to a much smaller settlement and additional years tacked onto the already drawn-out litigation process, according to the Times. For plaintiffs who aren’t keen on the offer, lawyers said that the archdiocese– which includes Manhattan, the Bronx, Staten Island and parts of the Hudson Valley — negotiated with an insurer to increase the sum of money allocated to holdouts to $20 million, which would be split evenly among them.
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