San Francisco archdiocese agrees to $395 million abuse settlement

Attorneys representing survivors of clergy sexual abuse announced Monday a $395 million settlement with the Archdiocese of San Francisco.

The deal would be "the largest per survivor settlement in any clerical bankruptcy," according to Jeff Anderson & Associates PA, a leading plaintiffs' law firm in the clergy abuse litigation.

The settlement would cover about 530 survivors. The claims follow the passage of AB 218, a 2019 bill that opened a window between 2020 and 2022 for survivors to file new civil cases that would otherwise be time-barred. Survivors must approve the deal before it is finalized.

"530 claims brought by survivors under the power of the California Child Victims Act that now bring pressure for real change and accountability," Jeff Anderson said in the news release. "We stand proudly with over 200 of those brave souls who have persisted collectively, requiring a real reckoning."

A representative for the archdiocese could not be reached immediately for comment. The deal must be approved by a judge.

After the law's passage, five California dioceses filed for bankruptcy: San Francisco, Oakland, Sacramento, San Diego and Santa Rosa. Also known as the California Child Victims Act, AB 218 has created major financial pressure for California public entities, especially counties and school districts.

Anderson's firm and several others are involved in each of the diocesan cases. Anderson has been especially outspoken in arguing that dioceses have used bankruptcy to shield assets, including by claiming that buildings and accounts belong to individual parishes. In re: Roman Catholic Archbishop of San Francisco, 23-30564 (N.D. Cal. Bankruptcy Ct., filed Aug. 21, 2023).

"It is important to know that the overwhelming majority of the alleged abuse occurred in the 1960s and 70s, and into the 80s, and involved priests who are deceased or no longer in ministry," Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone wrote in a letter to parishioners in 2023. "A significant number of these claims include unnamed individuals or named individuals who are unknown to the Archdiocese."

Insurers have not agreed to the deal, according to the news release. That could be a sticking point, as insurers have become increasingly aggressive in recent years in civil and bankruptcy cases. Under the proposed deal, the archdiocese and its affiliates would fund the settlement while assigning survivors the archdiocese's rights under insurance policies so they can pursue additional recovery from insurers.

The agreement also includes a 14-point plan requiring changes to child protection policies, survivor support and public transparency. The archdiocese must hire an independent child protection consultant to prepare a published report. It also would be required to release a list of credibly accused offenders. Other provisions include a survivors' bill of rights, anonymous online reporting, a non-retaliation policy for employees who report abuse, enhanced reference checks and letters of apology from Cordileone.

The case also made history last year when U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Dennis Montali ordered the release of meeting minutes prepared by the archdiocese's Debtor's Independent Review Board. The documents provided a rare look into the archdiocese's internal understanding of child sexual abuse allegations and the roles of individual priests.