A federal judge has dismissed one sex abuse claim against the
Catholic Archdiocese of Milwaukee, but is allowing two other cases to
proceed.
The ruling Monday by U.S. District Judge Rudolph Randa lets stand a
February decision by U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Susan V. Kelley allowing two
other claims to move forward.
The three cases were seen as tests for the archdiocese, which argued
claims against it could have been filed years earlier, and that some
claimants had received prior settlements.
A decision to dismiss all
three cases would have allowed the archdiocese to remove most of the 574
sex abuse cases against it, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported
Tuesday, noting the ruling could be seen as a victory for both sides.
"We're saddened by the loss of one claim, but the others are alive and will require individual scrutiny," said Jeffrey Anderson,
lawyer for 350 of the men and women who allege they were sexually
assaulted as children by priests and other church employees, adding the
claims could not be tossed out en masse.