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Judge Orders Insurance Company to Reimburse Archdiocese for Sex Abuse Settlements

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Last week, the Hartford Archdiocese won a case against the insurance company who refused to reimburse the Archdiocese for payments made to victims of priest sexual abuse. 

The decision by U.S. District Judge Janet Bond Arterton found that the insurance company, Interstate Fire and Casualty, was in breach of it's contract for refusing to reimburse the Archdiocese for payments it made to four victims of priest sexual abuse dating back to the 1970s and '80s.

Under the terms of the insurance contract, Interstate agreed to reimburse the Archdiocese "for all sums arising out of any occurrence."

"Occurence" was defined as an "accident or continued exposure to conditions which unintentionally results in personal injury."

In federal court in April, Interstate said they nullified the claims based on the "occurence clause" because they believed the Archdiocese was aware that the three priests in this case were predatory priests, and did nothing to keep the four victims out of harm's way.

The Archdiocese has denied that they knew about the abuse.

Judge Arterton found in favor of the Archdiocese, and ordered the insurance company to pay the Archdiocese of Hartford $945,000 plus interest.

The Hartford Archdiocese purchased insurance from Interstate Fire and Casualty in 1978, years before the priest sexual abuse scandal that broke in the early 2000s. Still, David Clohessy, executive director of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, or SNAP, believes that even back in the 1970s, churches bought the supplemental policies as a way to protect them from paying out large sums to settle cases of priest sexual abuse.

"I don't think they bought these policies because they anticipated a lot of heavy snowfall, and a lot of people slipping on the church steps and suing," Clohessy said. "Bishops knew about predator priests more than 50 years ago. Even back in the '70s, they knew they had a big problem on their hands."

According to The Boston Globe, in 2005 the Archdiocese of Hartford paid $22 million to 43 people who were sexually abused by priests, about half was covered by Interstate.

So why did Interstate balk at paying out the nearly $1 million in this case?

"Insurance companies are appalled at what they've seen by way of the deliberate deception by bishops, and it simply makes financial sense for them to fight," Clohessy said. And more and more insurance companies are willing to play hardball, and take their chances in court.

Interstate is among a number of insurance companies that are refusing to reimburse churches that settle priest sexual abuse cases. In 2014, the ninth circuit court of appeals in San Francisco ruled in Interstate's favor in a similar case, saying their policy with the Archdiocese of Phoenix does not cover priest sexual abuse cases.

But the victims, who are often called on to testify on behalf of the insurance companies, are put in a tough spot. Their desire to hold the church accountable in court could help the insurance company win the case.

If the insurance company is off the hook for the reimbursement, the church may be less inclined to settle sexual assault cases, possibly impacting future victims of sexual assault. "The victims are torn," said Clohessy. "They want the best for their brothers and sisters who have also been sexually violated, and yet it's hard to deny the fact that, in many cases, churches knew exactly what they were doing."

The Hartford Archdiocese has refused to comment on the case against Interstate.

In a statement provided to WNPR, Archdiocese spokeswoman Maria Zone wrote: "The policy of the Archdiocese is not to comment on matters that are pending in court, and this decision may be appealed." It is unclear whether Interstate will appeal the decision.

Ray Hardman is Connecticut Public’s Arts and Culture Reporter. He is the host of CPTV’s Emmy-nominated original series Where Art Thou? Listeners to Connecticut Public Radio may know Ray as the local voice of Morning Edition, and later of All Things Considered.

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