Dioceses ask for single judge for sex abuse lawsuits

Published: 2004-02-03

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (CNS) -- Seven of the eight Catholic dioceses in northern and central California filed a court request Jan. 26 to coordinate all pending civil sexual abuse lawsuits in one courtroom, calling it an attempt to streamline legal proceedings. The Sacramento Diocese did not join the others but plans to seek a separate coordination of cases it faces. Lawyers for the San Francisco Archdiocese and the dioceses of Fresno, Monterey, Oakland, San Jose, Santa Rosa and Stockton asked the State Judicial Council to consolidate an estimated 150 sexual abuse lawsuits they face under a single judge in Santa Clara County Superior Court. Santa Clara County, south of San Francisco Bay, is in the San Jose Diocese and is centrally located among the dioceses making the request. The proposal is similar to plans the council accepted earlier, at the request of plaintiffs' attorneys or dioceses, to coordinate such lawsuits against dioceses in Southern California. If the new request is granted, the coordinating judge would oversee settlement talks and make rulings on pretrial issues such as admissibility of evidence, insurance coverage and scheduling.

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