Wis. high court revives lawsuit against Milwaukee archdiocese that alleges cover up, fraud

[Ian David]

By Ryan J. Foley
ASSOCIATED PRESS

2:05 p.m. July 11, 2007

MADISON, Wis. – The Wisconsin Supreme Court revived a lawsuit against the Archdiocese of Milwaukee on Wednesday, ordering more proceedings into whether childhood victims of sexual abuse can sue the diocese for fraud.

The court said four victims of sexual abuse in the 1970s and 1980s cannot sue the diocese for negligence for failing to supervise the priests who molested them because the statute of limitations has expired. The three-year limit started ticking on the date of the last sexual assaults of each victim, the court said.

But the court reinstated the victims' claims of fraud against the diocese and ordered more proceedings to consider whether the six-year statute of limitations for such claims had expired.

The victims say the diocese fraudulently claimed the priests who abused them were not a danger to children and had no history of molesting children when church officials knew otherwise.

More:
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/nation/20070711-1405-churchabuse.html