Jeff Anderson Loses a Big One

Reporter Emily Gurnon at the St. Paul Pioneer Press relates the rare loss by Attorney Jeff Anderson in a decision of the Minnesota Court of Appeals holding that the silence of the New Ulm Diocese does not constitute "fraud."  The court dismissed the lawsuit of four local victims of clergy sex abuse. This is Miss Gurnon's story:

"Four women [represented by famed St. Palu lawyer, Jeff Anderson] who alleged that a now-dead priest sexually abused them as children had their lawsuit thrown out by the state Court of Appeals on Tuesday.

The court ruled that the New Ulm Diocese's silence on the Rev. David Roney's abusive behavior did not constitute fraud because the diocese did not 'suppress'  facts that it was under a legal obligation to disclose, a three-judge panel wrote.  There may be circumstances where a legal obligation to disclose the information existed, but the plaintiffs did not allege that, the court wrote.   '(The) appellants do not assert that respondents had a duty to disclose Father Roney's sexual-abuse history,' Judge Michelle Larkin wrote for the panel.

William Mitchell College of Law professor Michael Steenson said, 'Our (state) precedent dictates that there is no duty to disclose under these circumstances.' He added that "moral obligations and legal obligations are not the same.'

Larkin wrote, 'In this case, there is no evidence that respondents (the New Ulm Diocese) made affirmative misrepresentations separate and distinct from their nondisclosure or took active steps to conceal the abuse. The women have too broadly stated their fraud theory.'

The opinion said that, 'while we are sympathetic to victims of sexual abuse and recognize that appellants' claim involves allegations of inexcusable child abuse perpetrated by an adult in a position of trust, we are bound to follow existing law.'  The judges agreed with the diocese that, had the court ruled the other way, it would "greatly expand the scope of potential liability for fraud claims.'

The decision could affect other cases that allege fraud against dioceses that employed priests accused of sexual misconduct.

Mike Finnegan of Jeff Anderson & Associates, who represented the plaintiffs, said the ruling is not good for the women.   'This decision is definitely sad for these four women, and my heart goes out to them that, at least as of right now, we don't have any way to go forward,' Finnegan said. 'But the decision, overall, leaves a lot of hope for all the other survivors who have been lied to and misled, not only by the diocese here, but also by other organizations that are supposed to protect kids.'

Finnegan noted that the decision favored the women's claim that they filed their lawsuit within the statute of limitations.   'If you're deceived or lied to and you recently learned about that, you may have the ability to seek justice,'  he said.

Roney served at two parishes in the 1960s and 1970s: St. Francis in Benson and St. Mary's in Willmar.   The women, who were identified as Jane Does 43C, 43E, 43F and 43G, alleged that they were sexually abused by Roney at those churches. Parents and one plaintiff herself, when she was an adult, complained to church officials, but Roney was reassigned.  He died in 2003 at the Diocese of New Ulm's mission in Guatemala.  After Roney died, the diocese publicly acknowledged that he had sexually abused children.

Msgr. Douglas Grams of the diocese said in a statement Tuesday that the court 'made the right decision in determining that there was no basis for plaintiffs to make any claim of fraud against the diocese of New Ulm.'  He added that the diocese 'in no way' condones sexual abuse and expresses deep sympathies for any victims."
_______________________________
The work of Jeff Anderson and lawyers associated with him, changed the way the world looks at the Catholic Church and clergy sex abuse.  What he has accomplished is amazing, but these occasional losses reminds us of how far we've come in 20 years.  The losses were the rule 20 years ago, not the exception.