Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - As local churches weigh their options over whether or not to contribute to the Buffalo Diocese's $150 million clergy abuse settlement, WBEN reached out to attorney Paul Cambria for some legal analysis.
Earlier this week, Diocesan officials said if a parish decided not to pay, they might be opening themselves to future lawsuits. The settlement included liability protection against lawsuits claiming past sex abuse.
Does that mean that after the settlement, the Diocese could not be sued again, even if the state reopened the statute of limitations again on child sex abuse cases?
"For those who participated in a settlement, the idea is that the settlement would be final and they would not have the ability to file a separate or additional action," said Cambria. "That's why the lawyers who are dealing with this want all of the claimants to participate so that it's over. If you don't participate, and the statute of limitations has not [expired], you can file an individual lawsuit on your own."
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Cambria says one of the considerations is that with jury trials you don't know what the judgement and recovery could be. A potential judgement could be a lot more money than they are spending now in the settlement.
If a parish was to opt out of the settlement, could someone involved in the original lawsuit against the Diocese, file a second claim against a parish?
"I'm sure the lawyers who were involved in the settlement made them sign a release for any and all potential claims. If you're going to pay somebody something, they're going to sign off on any other possible litigation," Cambria said.
Some of the matters before the Buffalo Diocese involve Canon Law. We asked Cambria which carries more weight, canon law or traditional law?
"State or federal law takes precedence in the jurisdiction where the activities happened," he said.