After a Schenectady County jury ruled that seven defendants, including the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany, were liable for $54.2 million in compensatory damages in the St. Clare’s pension case, the diocese’s official publication posted an article saying the diocese is not liable.
The religious organization’s publication contradicts other legal analyses of the case.
Verdict sheets read in court Friday detailed the percentages at which the jury determined each defendant to be at fault in the case to do with more than 1,100 St. Clare’s Hospital retirees losing some or all of their benefits after the diocese-affiliated hospital’s pension fund collapsed in 2019.
The jury found the diocese to be zero percent responsible.
And after the verdict, an article in The Evangelist — the official publication of the Albany Diocese — said that the zero percent figure meant the diocese wasn’t liable in the case.
The article published Friday evening said, “In a much-anticipated verdict in a case that has been ongoing for years, the Diocese of Albany was found to be not responsible for the collapse of the St. Clare’s pension fund.”
But, David Pratt, an Albany Law School professor who represents some of the pensioners, says the jury’s ruling means that the diocese is liable — just indirectly. And, he said, Friday’s verdict means the diocese should be held financially responsible as the hospital retirees hope to receive pension benefits they’ve been without for several years.
“The diocese was held not to be liable, directly in the lawsuit, but they are liable because their agents were held liable and as you probably know if you have a principal agent relationship, a principal can be held liable for the acts of his or her agent if it’s within the scope of the agency relationship,” Pratt said.
Six other defendants were also found at fault and include former Bishop Howard Hubbard, former Bishop Edward Scharfenberger, Joseph Pofit, the St. Clare’s Corporation, Robert Perry and Reverend David LeFort.
The verdict ultimately means all seven defendants owe the pensioners a portion of the more than $54 million.
The pensioners were represented by attorneys from the AARP Foundation and the New York state attorney general’s office.
Speaking in the courthouse after the verdict was delivered, AARP Foundation Vice President of Litigation Louis Lopez told reporters that the percentages read aloud during the reading of the verdict sheets were recommendations.
“'All of the defendants in this case were found liable and its joint and several liability and so we brought claims against the Diocese three different ways, the jury found them liable under one of those ways, which means they're liable for that entire $54.2 million," Lopez said.
In a Friday statement, New York State Attorney General Letitia James said the “Schenectady County jury found the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany and the former leadership of St. Clare’s Hospital liable for failing to properly administer the St. Clare’s Hospital pension plan for 1,124 workers.”
In a separate Monday statement, Lopez said “The jury also found that the bishops and other officials were employees or agents of the diocese, and were acting in the scope of their employment or agency and in furtherance of the diocese’s business interest, when they committed the wrongful acts. Therefore, the diocese is liable as a matter of law for the wrongful conduct of its employees or agents.”
When contacted for comment, Kathryn Barrans, a spokesperson for the Diocese, said, “The jury sheets speak for themselves.”
The jury also ruled in favor of applying punitive damages in addition to the $54 million judgment.
Jurors are set to meet this week to determine just how much the defendants will have to pay in punitive damages.
“The defendants will be able to introduce evidence of their financial condition, so that the jury can take that into account when assessing punitive damages, and we will have an opportunity to cross examine those defendants again,” Lopez said.
Lopez said that process should only take a few days.
“It depends on the availability of the defendant witnesses and their evidence that they intend to put on,” Lopez said.
Meantime, Pratt, the Albany Law professor, says the verdict is not set in stone.
“It is at least possible that one or more of the defendants could appeal, it is also possible that the verdict could be modified or even overturned on appeal,” Pratt said.
Friday’s verdict comes as the Albany Diocese moves through the bankruptcy process and as hundreds of people have filed separate lawsuits alleging sexual abuse at the hands of its clergy.
