On 14 July 2007, two days before the first of a series of clergy abuse trials was to begin, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles agreed to pay 660 million dollars to settle claims brought by 508 people, the largest such settlement by a US Catholic diocese at the time. Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Haley Fromholz approved the agreement on 16 July 2007. The claims named 221 priests, brothers, lay teachers and other church employees and spanned about 70 years. The archdiocese contributed 250 million dollars in cash, with the remainder paid by its insurers and by several religious orders. Cardinal Roger Mahony, then archbishop, issued a public apology when the settlement was announced.
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Kind of Record JurisdictionCalifornia, United States (Los Angeles County Superior Court) 2 Publication Year Period Covered, FromCBS News reporting on the settlement's approval describes it coming after 'more than five years of negotiations' before the July 2007 agreement, placing the start of the claims and negotiation period around 2002, the year the Boston scandal nationally triggered the wave of California claims; no source gives one precise start date. Period Covered, To Documented Findings
Accused Documented Victim Estimate Key FindingThe 660 million dollar settlement averaged about 1.3 million dollars per claimant, though individual payouts varied with the severity and duration of the abuse alleged. It was reached two days before the first scheduled trial and, at the time, exceeded the Archdiocese of Boston's 2003 settlement and every other US diocesan settlement before it. The agreement was part of a broader liability that, with earlier settlements the archdiocese had already paid, brought its total abuse related payments above 770 million dollars. 1 Connections
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Source 660 Million Dollar Settlement in Priest AbusesJoe Mozingo and John Spano, Los Angeles Times
Source 660 Million Dollar Settlement in Priest AbusesJoe Mozingo and John Spano, Los Angeles Times
Source 660 Million Dollar Settlement in Priest AbusesJoe Mozingo and John Spano, Los Angeles Times
Belongs to Tradition
Source 660 Million Dollar Settlement in Priest AbusesJoe Mozingo and John Spano, Los Angeles Times
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1. 660 Million Dollar Settlement in Priest Abuses
Joe Mozingo and John Spano, Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, archived by BishopAccountability.org, 2007paragraph 1, Los Angeles Times, July 15, 2007, as republished by BishopAccountability.orgQuote, paragraph 1, Los Angeles Times, July 15, 2007, as republished by BishopAccountability.org
The Archdiocese of Los Angeles agreed Saturday to a $660-million settlement with 508 people who have accused priests of sexual abuse, by far the biggest payout in the child molestation scandal that has rocked the Roman Catholic Church nationwide.
2. Los Angeles Court Approves Church Sex Abuse Settlement
Associated Press, Associated Press, republished by KPBS Public Media, 2007paragraph 1, KPBS, July 16, 2007Quote, paragraph 1, KPBS, July 16, 2007
A Los Angeles approved a $660 million settlement between the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles and more than 500 people who were sexually abused by members of the clergy.
3. CBS News: $660M Clergy Sex Abuse Settlement OK'd
CBS News (CBS/AP)paragraph 1, CBS News, July 16, 2007Quote, paragraph 1, CBS News, July 16, 2007
A judge has approved a landmark $660 million settlement between the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles and hundreds of alleged victims of clergy abuse.
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