Archdiocese of New York proposes $800 million settlement for abuse claims

(OSV News) — The Archdiocese of New York has proposed an $800 million settlement to resolve some 1,300 abuse claims involving clergy and staff brought under lookback laws in that state.

If accepted, the settlement would cap a five-year legal battle that has seen the archdiocese sell off property, while taking insurance giant Chubb to court over coverage for the claims.

In a May 1 statement, Archbishop Ronald A. Hicks of New York said the archdiocese and the Plaintiff’s Liaison Committee, the body representing “a majority of victim-survivors,” had been “working hard for several months to reach agreement on a global settlement of all sex abuse lawsuits.”

In December, Archbishop Hicks’ predecessor, Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan, had announced that the archdiocese would be entering into mediation and working to raise more than $300 million for sexual abuse settlements.

That effort had included the 2024 sale of the archdiocese’s office headquarters, with the Manhattan property acquired for $100 million by Vanbarton Group, a boutique real estate investment firm.

In his message, Archbishop Hicks did not disclose the proposed settlement amount, a figure that The New York Times published April 30, citing a letter plaintiff attorneys Jeff Anderson and Trusha Goffe had emailed to their clients.

The newspaper quoted the document, a copy of which it had obtained, with Anderson and Goffe advising that each claimant would receive $250,000 — and urging them to unanimously accept the offer, a condition necessary to effect the settlement.

The attorneys warned that “if there are any holdouts, the global settlement will not be consummated,” leaving open the possibility that the archdiocese and “participating parties may file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy,” said The New York Times, quoting from the letter.

Archbishop Hicks said in his message that “although much work remains to be done before a settlement can be finalized and consummated, I am cautiously optimistic about the path we are on.”

He stressed that both sides “have been working hard for several months to reach agreement on a global settlement of all sex abuse lawsuits,” seeking to “create the framework of a comprehensive arrangement that will deliver compensation to victim-survivors faster and more efficiently than the traditional legal process.”

The archbishop said discussions had been “facilitated by Judge Daniel J. Buckley,” whom he described as “a highly experienced neutral third-party mediator.”

Buckley had overseen the Archdiocese of Los Angeles’ $880 million settlement in 2024, the largest of its kind at the time among U.S. Catholic dioceses.

Archbishop Hicks also noted in his message that Cardinal Dolan had established “the Independent Reconciliation and Compensation Program (IRCP) in 2016 which provided millions in compensation to victim-survivors.”

“The Archdiocese has sold off the majority of its real estate holdings and made significant cuts to our staff and other operational expenses,” said Archbishop Hicks. “These cuts have been painful for us, but they were necessary measures to secure the resources needed to compensate victim-survivors.”

In a May 1 press release, Anderson and Associates — the firm spearheaded by Anderson — said the proposed settlement “includes four main components.”

The monetary portion would see “approximately $615 million” paid in a first installment, with $185 million distributed “within approximately 15 months.”

Survivors would also have “an opportunity to pursue recoveries from the Archdiocese of New York’s insurance companies,” with those funds, if recovered, going into a survivors’ trust.

The archdiocese has been battling Chubb-affiliated insurers over policy coverage of claims in court, as insurance companies in recent years have pushed back against dioceses on the matter.

A third aspect of the proposed settlement would require the Archdiocese of New York to “maintain their list of credibly accused clergy on their website and continue to update it with any new, substantiated abuse claims,” according to Anderson and Associates.

As part of such disclosures, the archdiocese “must provide Iona University” — a private Catholic university with campuses in New Rochelle and Bronxville, New York — “with copies of documents regarding these allegations of sexual abuse,” the law firm said in its press release.

“Informing the public about these credibly accused priests will help to better protect kids in the future and let survivors who have remained silent know they are not alone,” said the firm.

The release said the final major stipulation was a “temporary stoppage” of “all litigation against the Archdiocese for the survivors and their counsel” to consider the terms of the proposed settlement.

Anderson said in his firm’s press release that the archdiocese’s proposed settlement was “far from full accountability,” but still “a measure of responsibility and required transparency.”

In a statement to OSV News, attorney Mitchell Garabedian — noting he currently represents 23 of the survivors in the litigation against the Archdiocese of New York — said the settlement, if realized, would provide “some but not all” of the “validation through transparency and accountability” survivors sought.

“It cannot be denied that this has been a painful process — most significantly so for the victim-survivors and their families and loved ones who have suffered, in most cases, for decades,” said Archbishop Hicks in his message.

He added, “I pray that all of us, as the Family of God, will come together to support and affirm these individuals and take these next steps to bring about some healing and peace. Please join me in asking for the powerful intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary and St. Joseph to heal the wounds of all those who have been hurt by abuse whenever and wherever it occurred.”

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