Diocese of Antigonish Class Action Settlement

The Supreme Court of Nova Scotia approved a class action settlement against the Roman Catholic Diocese of Antigonish on 10 September 2009, covering all persons sexually assaulted by any priest of the diocese since 1 January 1950. The contemporaneous settlement release, filed by class counsel the day of approval, states the approved fund at just over 13 million dollars, a 12 million dollar settlement fund plus a 1 million dollar expense fund, exclusive of a separate costs fund. Later reporting on the completed payout, finished in 2012, gives a larger total: 15 million dollars ultimately paid to 125 claimants, the diocese having sold a large number of parish properties, liquidated the bank accounts of many of its churches and borrowed 6.5 million dollars from private lenders to complete the payment. Both figures are recorded, the variance named, rather than picking one. No individual accused or claimant is named; both sources describe an aggregate court-approved settlement.