The Archdiocese of New York late last year sought authority from its insurer to discuss settling as many as 1,700 child sex abuse claims for up to $2 billion as part of high-stakes negotiations.<\/p>\n
The Manhattan-based Catholic institution pitched the figure to Chubb Ltd. following a proposal from lead plaintiffs\u2019 counsel representing more than 80% of claimants who sued under the state\u2019s Child Victims Act, according to court records filed Tuesday by the insurer\u2019s attorneys in the New York Supreme Court, New York County.<\/p>\n
The archdiocese didn\u2019t think a settlement demand made by claimant lawyers in November was reasonable, its attorney Jim Murray of Blank Rome LLP said in a Dec. 1 email. But he told a Chubb attorney that a global resolution was achievable at a \u201csubstantially lower dollar amount\u201d after the church did its own analysis. <\/p>\n
The claimants\u2019 proposal wasn\u2019t disclosed in court documents.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe analysis has convinced the Archdiocese that its effort to manage its exposure through continued litigation and one off settlements is not a cost-effective way to mitigate its liability and, if current inflationary settlement and verdict trends continue, may not be sustainable,\u201d Murray told the insurer\u2019s lawyers in December.<\/p>\n
The filings are part of an escalating fight between the New York archdiocese and Chubb over who must foot the bill for childhood sexual abuse claims against the church, which has become unusually vicious<\/a> with accusations of secret<\/a> public influence campaigns<\/a>. <\/p>\n If a settlement approached $2 billion, it could be one of the largest single deals struck by a Catholic institution in the US stemming from allegations of child sex abuse. No deal has been reached, and the figure from December could change. <\/p>\n In a Dec. 23 letter, Chubb counsel Allen Burton of O\u2019Melveny & Myers LLP said he didn\u2019t understand the basis for the archdiocese\u2019s request for consent to discuss \u201cup to $2 billion.\u201d The archdiocese only provided \u201cseverity-level categorical totals\u201d instead of individual valuations for the more than 1,700 pending cases, and couldn\u2019t match the church\u2019s totals to other numbers provided during financial presentations, he said in the communication.<\/p>\n Attorneys for the archdiocese didn\u2019t immediately comment Wednesday. <\/p>\n The court document containing discussions of the $2 billion figure was restricted from public view Wednesday after Bloomberg Law reached out to Chubb\u2019s lawyers for comment. A Chubb spokesperson in a statement called the figure \u201coutdated\u201d and said it was meant to remain confidential.<\/p>\n \u201cIt does not accurately represent the current state of the legal proceedings or settlement discussions,\u201d the insurer said. \u201cWe have no basis for knowing whether it reflects an accurate value of the underlying claims.\u201d<\/p>\n Abuse Coverage Calculations<\/p>\n Insurers have accused<\/a> the church of refusing to provide mediation records used to calculate claim valuations, saying they can\u2019t consent to a settlement without the information.<\/p>\n The church has pushed back, citing mediation confidentiality. Insurers say they\u2019ve already paid $60 million in legal defense costs for the archdiocese in abuse suits, while the New York institution has paid out more than $67 million to about 340 claimants. <\/p>\n Burton also said he was confused about how many claimants were included in some multi-plaintiff lawsuits, and that there were discrepancies over Boy Scouts of America abuse claims, for which archdiocese was seeking coverage. <\/p>\n \u201cInsurers do not object to ADNY compensating deserving victims,\u201d Burton wrote on Dec. 23 to Murray. \u201cOf course, whether there is coverage for those claims is the subject of our declaratory relief action.\u201d<\/p>\n O\u2019Melveny attorney Daniel L. Cantor in a court filing Tuesday opposed the archdiocese\u2019s motion to review a discovery order issued by a special master to produce mediation records, arguing the church is trying to \u201crun out the clock\u201d on settlement negotiations.<\/p>\n He accused the church of trying to keep a litigation pause in place \u201clong enough for it to complete its ongoing mediation with CVA Plaintiffs, thereby negating the Certain Insurers\u2019 cooperation and consent rights under the policies.\u201d<\/p>\n A flood of claims against Catholic churches followed New York\u2019s 2019 Child Victims Act, which temporarily opened a statute of limitations window that let accusers sue over decades-old abuse.<\/p>\n Six of the eight Catholic dioceses in New York have filed for Chapter 11 and together have been named in at least 2,800 abuse claims. Half have secured court approval of their bankruptcy plans, agreeing so far to pay at least $1 billion to victims.<\/p>\n The Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn has entered mediation to resolve 1,100 clergy abuse claims and has set aside hundreds of millions of dollars to try to avoid bankruptcy.<\/p>\n The Archdiocese of Los Angeles in 2024 agreed<\/a> to pay $880 million for to settle more than 1,300 child sexual abuse allegations, after having already paid victims more than $740 million. <\/p>\n The archdiocese is also represented by Hoguet Newman Regal & Kenney LLP. Chubb is also represented by Baughman Kroup Bosse PLLC.<\/p>\n