Four years ago, hundreds of victims came forward alleging that Catholic priests on Long Island had sexually abused them. Those victims finally reached a $320.5 million settlement Thursday with the Diocese of Rockville Centre.
The diocese first filed for bankruptcy back in 2020, and that claim has been hotly contested for the past four years. Meanwhile, the first official jury court date for the sex abuse lawsuit — scheduled for Oct. 7 — loomed ever closer.
Today, with less than two weeks before that first jury trial, the Diocese of Rockville Centre agreed on a $320.5 million settlement with the victims.
“Rather than (accept April’s lowball offer), the survivors told the Diocese, its parishes, and their insurance companies to get ready to face New York juries for their wrongdoing,” said James Marsh, a partner and sexual abuse attorney with Marsh Law Firm, in a statement.
“I hope this settlement paves the way for a similar approach in the other Catholic bankruptcies, some of which have been pending for even longer than this one,” Marsh continued. “If anyone out there wants to argue these claims aren’t worth much, they should be forced to make that argument to a jury.”
The Diocese of Rockville Centre was at the center of one of the longest pending Catholic bankruptcies in the country.