Judge is asked to suspend sex suits
Class-action group sought for settlements
Attorneys for most of the plaintiffs alleging they were sexually abused by Catholic priests and others and defense lawyers yesterday asked a Jefferson Circuit judge to suspend most activity in the more than 200 pending cases for 90 days to allow time for negotiations on a possible settlement.
Jefferson Circuit Judge James M. Shake is expected to rule today on whether the plaintiffs can be considered a class for the purpose of settlement discussions.
On the plaintiffs' side, attorneys led by William McMurry, who represents 214 plaintiffs in the 247 cases filed since last April against the Archdiocese of Louisville, are pushing for mediation. Proposing mediation from the defense are attorneys for the archdiocese and a Southern Indiana-based province of Franciscans that is the target of 19 of the lawsuits.
Archdiocesan attorney Edward Stopher said a negotiated settlement would be best for all sides, and said the 90-day freeze is not a stall tactic. He said it is needed so church officials can devote all their attention to the possible settlement of the bulk of the cases.
McMurry said he expects all 214 of his clients to take part in the settlement talks. If a settlement were reached, Archbishop Thomas C. Kelly and Brian Reynolds, the chancellor and chief administrative officer for the archdiocese, would not have to testify more than 200 times.
The proposed order given to Shake would give any plaintiff who does not want to participate in the class until May 30 to notify attorneys.
The cases would be handled as a class-action group for settlement purposes only, according to the proposed order. The class is defined as lawsuits filed between April 2002 and last Wednesday.
The proposed order designates McMurry, Ann Oldfather and Douglas Morris as attorneys for the class, Stopher as counsel for the archdiocese and Donald Kelly as attorney for the Franciscans, which are the Province of Our Lady of Consolation.
Attorney Wallace Rogers, who represents plaintiff Kyle Burden, filed a notice that his client is opting out of the class and told Shake that he would appeal the judge's ruling if he imposes the 90-day limit on activity in all the cases.
"If it inconveniences the archbishop" to testify in each case, Rogers said, "I could care less."
Attorney Michael Slaughter, who with his law partner, Andrew White, represents nine plaintiffs, said that they will recommend that their plaintiffs opt out of the settlement.
One exception to the delay in activity is the scheduled deposition of the Rev. Louis E. Miller, who is named as an abuser in more than 90 civil cases and has pleaded guilty to 50 criminal charges related to child sexual abuse in Jefferson Circuit Court.
The proposal sets out a time frame for settlement negotiations in June.
The attorneys said they would advise Shake by June 2 how many plaintiffs have agreed to class-action mediation.
Two of the plaintiffs were named as prosecution witnesses in a three-count criminal indictment returned yesterday by a Jefferson County grand jury against former Catholic grade school teacher Gary Kazmarek.
Kazmarek is scheduled for a pretrial conference this morning on an earlier indictment in Jefferson Circuit Court. Yesterday's charges bring the number of felony counts against Kazmarek to14. The counts charge him with indecent or immoral practices with another and involve five alleged victims.
Yesterday's indictment alleges that Kazmarek sexually abused the children, who were under 15, between August 1972 and May 1973. Two counts pertain to David Schaefer and one count relates to Glenn Bonn.
Kazmarek has pleaded innocent to the earlier charges.
