The insurance carrier for the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego filed a lawsuit Friday contending that because the diocese violated the terms of its insurance policies, the company should not have to pay out any money to settle claims from hundreds of people alleging they were victims of sexual abuse by clergy over the past several decades.
The company is arguing that insurance policies in place years ago effectively capped how much could be paid out. It says the diocese knew during those years that some clergy members “had proclivities toward sexual abuse of children such that coverage is precluded” under the policies that were in effect then.
The lawsuit filing caught the diocese off guard. Eckery said Friday that it was a surprise and that the diocese was disappointed the insurance company sued.The suit is the latest legal woe facing the diocese, which has 93 parishes and some 1.6 million congregants in San Diego and Imperial counties. In 2007, facing a similar, but smaller, wave of claims, the diocese also sought bankruptcy protection, but its petition was dismissed after a settlement was reached where the diocese paid out $198 million. The lawsuit Friday said Catholic Mutual contributed $75 million to that settlement., alleging the diocese had committed fraud when it transferred hundreds of real estate properties from the diocese to individual parish corporations.