Clercs de Saint-Viateur: Judge Rejects $28M Settlement Over Fees
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The lawsuit against the Catholic religious order Les Clercs de St-Viateur involved acts committed between 1935 and today in more than 20 establishments of the organization.
A judge of the Quebec Superior Court has dismissed a $28 million settlement in a sexual abuse lawsuit against Les Clercs de Saint-Viateur due to high legal fees associated with the settlement.
The agreement would have awarded the Montreal law firm Arsenault, Dufresne and Wee, which represented the plaintiffs, more than $8 million in legal fees.
Judge Thomas Mr. Davis writes in a July 4 ruling that these fees are excessive and not in the best interests of the more than 375 sexual abuse victims who were part of the class action.
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Judge Davis says the firm has done an outstanding job and expects a new deal with reasonable fees can be reached and submitted back to court.
The lawsuit against the Catholic religious order Les Clercs de Saint-Viateur concerned acts committed between 1935 and today in more than 20 establishments run by the group, including boarding schools.
In July 2021, a priest of the order, the Reverend Jean Pilon, was sentenced to three years and half of prison for criminal acts of a sexual nature on a dozen minor victims at the time of the crimes committed between 1961 and 1989.
