by Leslie C. Griffin* An option to a civil case filed against a defendant is for the defendant to settle the case. There is a long trail of settlements to trace in the Massachusetts abuse cases. Settlements often occurred because of the statutes of limitations, and because Massachusetts lawyers...

by Leslie C. Griffin* In blog post 2 I told you about the criminal cases against church personnel. They also faced many civil cases, as the courts decided who should be held liable for abuse. The abuser, certainly. But what about the bishops, cardinals, archdiocese and dioceses who employed and...

by Leslie C. Griffin* In my first Massachusetts blog post, I explained why reporting requirements, statutes of limitations, and charitable immunity blocked many lawsuits against Catholic abusers. Although some abusers escaped liability because of those protections, many Catholics were convicted of...

by Leslie C. Griffin* Introduction Have you seen the movie? Spotlight won the Academy Award for best picture in 2015. That film tells the story of the Boston Globe reporters who investigated sexual abuse in the Roman Catholic Church in Massachusetts. The abuse story was unbelievable, yet true. To...