Archdiocese of New York sues Chubb over denied abuse claims protection

The Archdiocese of New York has filed a lawsuit towards Chubb Ltd, accusing the insurer of violating New York’s common enterprise regulation by denying protection for sexual abuse claims.

Cardinal Timothy Dolan (pictured above), the archbishop of New York, addressed the difficulty in a letter to parishioners, stating that regardless of the archdiocese having paid over $2 billion in premiums to Chubb over time, the insurer is making an attempt to evade its authorized and contractual obligations.

“It has at all times been our want to expeditiously settle all meritorious claims,” the cardinal stated, in keeping with a report from AM Greatest.

In 2019, the archdiocese initiated authorized motion towards 30 insurance coverage firms, together with Chubb, looking for protection for settlements associated to sexual abuse claims. Chubb responded with a countersuit, aiming to keep away from indemnifying or defending the archdiocese, however a New York choose dismissed the case in December 2023.

Dolan famous that whereas the archdiocese has settled greater than 520 instances, roughly 1,400 claims stay unresolved. A few of these instances date again so far as World Warfare II, with the biggest group of allegations involving a former volunteer basketball coach and a former janitor.

These claims have been made potential by the 2019 Little one Victims Act, which opened a window for survivors of childhood abuse to file claims. The surge in claims following the regulation’s passage has led a number of non secular organizations, together with the Catholic Diocese of Syracuse, to file for chapter.

Chubb, in an announcement, accused the archdiocese of masking up widespread little one sexual abuse for many years and refusing to compensate victims regardless of its important monetary sources. The insurer claimed the archdiocese is making an attempt to shift duty to its insurers whereas withholding crucial details about its information of the abuse

Chubb additionally accused the church of concealing property and wealth. The corporate described the lawsuit as a “monetary maneuver” geared toward deflecting duty.

In response to the monetary pressure brought on by the abuse disaster, the archdiocese introduced it’s promoting its headquarters in Midtown Manhattan. Proceeds from the sale are supposed to assist alleviate the monetary burden. The archdiocese can be contemplating promoting different properties in its portfolio as a part of its broader effort to handle the continuing disaster.

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