Every case is different, and prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. The matters below are described only to the extent the information is public or non-confidential, and no client is identified.
Clergy Sexual Abuse Claim Against a Catholic Diocese: $450,000 Settlement Without a Lawsuit
Practice area: Sexual abuse, institutional liability
Defendant: The Ukrainian Catholic Diocese of Stamford
Outcome: $450,000 settlement at mediation, before any lawsuit was filed
Handled by: Attorney Nate Baber, prior to founding Baber Law
Our client came forward nearly four decades after the abuse. He alleged that beginning when he was 12, a priest at St. Michael Ukrainian Catholic Church in the Terryville section of Plymouth sexually abused him in the rectory beside the church, and that the abuse continued for about five years. He was not a parishioner; a friend had introduced him to the priest as someone who could offer guidance. The priest had come to Terryville in 1968 after serving in Syracuse, New York, and died in 1990.
The two facts that stop most survivors from ever making a call, the passage of time and the abuser's death, did not end this claim. Connecticut's extended limitation period for childhood sexual abuse allowed it to proceed, and because the responsibility pursued was the diocese's own, for placing and retaining the priest, the abuser's death did not defeat it. The investigation also surfaced credible reports of abuse from the priest's earlier assignment, which bore directly on what the diocese should have known.
Rather than file a public lawsuit, Attorney Baber brought the claim directly to the diocese and resolved it through mediation with a mediator experienced in clergy abuse cases. The diocese settled for $450,000 in December 2021, as reported by the Hartford Courant. The client's identity was protected throughout.
What this case shows: a survivor does not need a living abuser, a recent event, or a willingness to go to trial to obtain accountability. He needs the right defendant, the right deadline analysis, and a lawyer who will do the work quietly. Read more about who can be held responsible for sexual abuse in Connecticut and the deadlines that apply.
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If you or a family member has been harmed by abuse, negligent medical care, or a serious accident in Connecticut, we will tell you plainly whether we can help. Contact Baber Law for a free, confidential consultation, or call 1-855-285-3425. There is no fee unless we recover for you.
Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Case descriptions are general and omit or alter details to protect client confidentiality. Nothing on this page is legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship.